With you I'm falling
by allsee
Summary: A new captive is brought in front of the king; he has such a magnificent blue eyes that forced the crown prince to make him his slave. I am not so good at summary. Rated M for later chapters. Dean & castiel
1. Chapter 1

This is a reposting of the first chapter, at the request of **moonpiegirl**, (thank you).

Once again I humbly thank my awesome beta **RubinAmigo**, for not only correcting my mistakes but also helping with some creative sentences.

**All other mistakes are all mine.**

**Summary:** A new captive is brought in front of the king; he has such magnificent blue eyes that forced the crown prince to make him his slave.

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><p>"My lord a new one has been captured," said one of the tall guards that carry the limping figure, as they walked through the main hall that led to the Judge.<p>

"That is the fourth one today. What is this, an all out invasion?" asked the receptionist at the entrance to the courtroom.

Humans and angels lived in neighboring countries. Although peace agreements were signed between the two countries, there wasn't any real peace there.

Needless to say, the two sides were not too fond of each other. Humans saw the angels as heartless bastards, who would kill anyone without pity or compassion at the smallest sign of disobedience, even their own children.

As for the angles, for them the human were invaders, who by manipulation and cunning had deceived the previous king into granting them rights on some of his lands and so, with the rising of the new king, had to be eliminated.

The two sides fought for many years but the fighting led to nowhere and many had already died for nothing, so the peace agreements were signed.

But it wasn't a real peace. Every once in a while someone from one side would go into the neighboring country to gather information, but they never got far, for humans and angels were very different from one another. First and foremost in their physical appearance-absence or existence of wings was a pretty obvious sign. There were other signs, too of course, but that was the main thing.

The humans soon realized that it was useless to try to send spies and stopped sending people in but the angels, it seemed were not so perceptive and they kept on sending more men across the border, though it was not clear why.

The angels that were caught were not killed. It was pointless, there was already enough death. At the beginning some were tortured but that too seemed pointless, for the angels that crossed the border were apparently commoners, who knew nothing of importance, so the humans stopped asking questions and instead enslaved the intruding angels.

The guard smirked. He and his partner held the prisoner with one hand under each of his arms, barely stopping him from falling to the floor, he was so exhausted. He was apparently wounded in his right leg but that had not stopped him from being chased for most of the previous night.

The receptionist grabbed the angel by his hair and pulled his head up so he could take a better look at his face.

The angel had thick black hair and bright blue eyes. All angels had amazing eyes. The colors were the same as those of human eyes but those of the angels looked like they were glowing. And this angel's eyes seemed to be even more bright.

The receptionist wrinkled his nose as he took a better look at the angel. He was filthy, which was not surprising but still repulsing nonetheless.

"He seems fit," said the receptionist, and released the angel's hair. "Take him in."

The two guards that held the angel, dragged him through the large wooden door, which stood open behind the receptionist. They walked him through the room that was the courtroom, and dropped him in front of a large wooden table at which sat 5 people with severe expression on their faces. The one that sat in the middle of the table spoke first; he questioned the guards about where they found the angel, where he was captured, what was the distance from the border, how he was injured and all sorts of questions like that. The angel did not seem to react at all to what was going on in front of him. He just sat there with his head bowed and his eyes locked on the floor, waiting for his verdict.

Finally, the court reached a decision; there were too many angels in this part of the country, so he was to be sent to the palace, where his fate would be decided.

The angel was thrown into a wagon along with three more of his people for the four-day journey to the palace. They didn't speak to one another and they did not crowd together, not even as a protection from the cold. They did not even show any awareness at the others' presence.

When they finally reached the palace, they were allowed to clean up a bit. Then they were brought before the king, who was engaged in a casual conversation with Dean, the crown prince.

"What have we got here?" asked the king with a serious but calm expression on his face.

He wasn't very old. He had a short brown beard that matched his brown hair and small eyes that radiated power and authority. In fact his entire appearance said that he was not someone to mess with.

Next to him, on his right, stood the crown prince, who was now looking at the angels. They were filthy, each with different wings and hair color, but all of them with huge wings that were tied to their backs to prevent them from flying or using them in any other way. At first all four angels had their eyes on the floor but then one of them lifted his head and made unintentional eye contact with the crown prince. When their eyes met, the prince's breathing stopped. The angel's eyes shine in a bright and intense shade of blue. He has never seen this kind of blue ever before and for those few seconds that they held eye contact, he couldn't breathe. But it was soon over when the angel realized what he was doing and the danger that he was in and quickly lowered his gaze to the floor. The prince lowered his eyes as well but lifted them back up immediately.

"These angels were caught at the border, your majesty. We brought them here because the town where they were caught, could not keep them because there was no more room," the guard explained. "All four of them were caught on the same day, your majesty."

"Four in one day?" said the king in mocking wonder. "You seem to be eager to become slaves," he laughed.

"Your highness, if I may," piped one of the king's advisers that stood about a meter or two from the throne.

"Yes Chuck," said the kind, gesturing for him to get closer. The small and trembling young man walked a bit closer to the king. He was very smart but not the bravest or the most self-confident. In fact if he wasn't one of the crown prince's friends and an excellent scholar, he probably would not be where he was today.

"I have heard that the kitchens require more slaves. I believe they could be sent there, if there are no objections, your majesty," Chuck suggested. Because he was not all that good in battles and he had no practical experience in the field, despite his wisdom, his consulting domain had been limited to the internal affairs of the kingdom and stirrings of the palace. But he was also a good and honest man, so the palace people did not fear to approach him on any matter, especially those that would probably require the king's intervention.

"I have none," said the king. "Dean?" he asked the crown prince.

The crown prince bowed his head to his father in respect and said, "I would like to have one as my personal slave, if that is okay with you father."

The king nodded. "Very well my son. It's about time you take yourself a personal slave, so which one do you want?"

Dean approached the bound angels. "Look at me!" he commanded.

The first to lift his gaze was the one with the blue eyes. Again he met the crown prince's eyes, only this time he didn't avert his eyes. He kept on looking, staring, as if he was gazing into the prince's soul. A small and unnoticeable smile appeared on the prince's nice face. 'Interesting,' he thought.

The next was a female with red hair and gray eyes. She was very beautiful with a slim and elegant body. He could very well have a good time with her, there was no doubt about that, but the blue eyed one was more interesting.

The next was a sandy-haired male, who was slightly bigger than the one with the blue eyes and had green eyes and dark skin, followed by a young male, not yet a man, that had black hair and black eyes.

The last one was the only one that looked utterly afraid. The other two just looked exhausted and the one with the blue eyes looked opposing. With that the prince's decision was made. He smirked to himself, lifted his finger and pointed at the one with the blue eyes. Then he turned around, bowed to his father, who nodded in approval and left to stand on his father right side.

With that the decision was officially made and the angel with the blue eyes lowered his head in sorrow. Now he was truly lost.


	2. Chapter 2

The wonderful and amazing '**RubinAmigo**' has agreed to be my Beta and edit for me- Thank you so much, Hugs.

Hopefully now it will be easier to read.

Thanks all readers. Please read, review and enjoy!

Chapter 2

Dean stood alone in his rooms; a knock on the door woke him from his thoughts. Dean looked up and saw his younger brother Sam at the entrance to his room.

"I was told you have asked for me," said Sam with that formality that was required from his status.

The two princes were very close, but in the presence of someone else they kept a formal attitude to one another (except for maybe Chuck, who was a close friend of Dean's); only when they were alone did they act like themselves.

"Yes I have brother," Dean said and made a gesture with his hand that signaled to Sam to get in, "There's something I want to ask of you," he continued as Sam got in and closed the wooden door of his bedroom.

"Of course Dean, anything you want," said Sam with a smile on his face.

Sam approached a low sofa and sat on it, and signaled Dean to do the same.

"So, what did you want to ask?" said Sam after Dean had sat down as well.

"I would like to borrow your personal slave," Dean said without looking at Sam. He knew how possessive his brother was when it came to sharing his things and especially his slave.

"You… want to take Gabriel?" asked Sam. "Why? You don't like him at all."

"Borrow, not take. Borrow," emphasizedDean, "and you're right. I don't like him very well, but he does know what he is doing and I need someone to instruct my new slave as to what he needs to do and know."

Sam didn't answer and seemed to be considering it. 'Oh, sometimes, Sammy, you're such a girl,' Dean thought to himself.

"Oh come on Sammy, stop thinking so much, you are giving me a headache," said Dean mockingly. "I just don't trust anyone else, except for the personal slave of my brother, to know exactly what to do, and…"

"Ok, ok, stop with the begging," Sam said with his hands in the air. "You can have him for one day, just one day, got it? And you call me a girl."

"Thanks Sammy," smiled Dean, "and yes, you are a girl."

Gabriel was told by prince Sam that he was to tend to the new slave of the crown prince. He was to clean him, feed him and instruct him on everything he needed to know as a personal slave. But all that wasn't important at the moment. Gabriel had seen the new slave, he had been there when the crown prince had chosen him, and he knew him.

His little brother, his precious little brother, but why? What the hell had happened?

Gabriel nearly burst through his younger brother's bedroom door; personal slaves had their own rooms so they would always be close to the one they served and be able to tend to their any desire at any time of the day.

When he got in, his young brother stood with his back to him. He just stood there, he didn't move nor did he say anything, he just stood.

Gabriel approached him gently. "Castiel?" he whispered.

At the sound of Gabriel's voice Castiel turned around, his eyes widened with surprise and shock.

"Gabriel?" he whispered, his voice cracked. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, Castiel it's…," but Gabriel didn't finish his sentence before Castiel was already hugging him tight. Gabriel hugged him back, careful not to touch his bound wings.

For a few minutes neither of them moved or said anything and then reluctantly Gabriel pulled back. He looked in his younger brother's eyes and said, "Castiel what happened? Why are you here?"

Castiel didn't answer. He just looked at his brother with a sad look on his face, and Gabriel knew, he knew that Castiel could not talk about it. It was a secret, a secret that if exposed, it might cost them their lives and that only if they were lucky. So Gabriel didn't ask nor did he say anything else of that matter, he just smiled a faint smile that seemed to transfer everything to Castiel that he wanted to tell him but couldn't.

And then something shifted in Castiel eyes. "Gabriel!" he whispered. "Anna, she's…" but with a wave of his hand, Gabriel stopped him from saying anything else. He nodded in understanding and said "I know. I was there. I will see what I can do."

But before either of them could say anything else there was a knock on the door.

A human slave came in carrying soap and towels in his hands. He put the things on the floor, and then hurried back out, but not before telling them that the crown prince had ordered his personal slave to be in his rooms right after supper.

'That only leaves us with about two hours,' thought Gabriel. 'I just hope it will be enough.'

"We don't have a lot of time. I am supposed to prepare you for the crown prince," said Gabriel as he quickly urged his brother to the nearby tub.

"But…" Castiel started but was cut off by Gabriel.

"No buts! You can't be late," he ordered, still pushing Castiel into the tub.

Once Castiel was in the round wooden tub, Gabriel told him to take off his clothes so he could help him clean up (well, what was left of them anyway after a night of chasing in the woods, and then four more days of traveling in a wagon). Castiel, being who he was, said nothing. He took off his clothes as instructed, trying his best to forget about modesty. He was a slave now, and in a slave life, what once was a given, was now a privilege. And modesty was not something he could afford anymore.

Gabriel helped him clean up as best as he could, while trying his best not to violate his brother's privacy. Castiel noticed it and said, "It's okay brother, I know what must be done. Come on, we don't have a lot of time."

Gabriel nodded and came to stand behind Castiel. He poured some water on Castiel's right wing, then moved his hand gently on the wing, cleaning the feathers as best as he could, considering the fact that the wing was bound. Castiel didn't move. He seemed to be in some sort of a trance.

Touching the wings of an angel was considered a very intimate act, which was performed only by a mate. Having Gabriel touch his wings like that was bad enough but the fact that they were bound like they were, only made it more painful for Castiel, both physically and emotionally.

But it didn't last long. Gabriel was, as Dean said, very good at what he did, and soon he had Castiel completely cleaned.

Once they were done with that Gabriel taught him everything he needed to know: what he should do, what he shouldn't, who he could and couldn't trust, a bit about the politics that took place in the palace, but mostly he told him about Dean. He told him that the crown prince had a temper when something wasn't done right, that he didn't like groveling and begging. That he was harsh sometimes, but always fair and had a fondness for women and alcohol, but knew his limits.

Last he told him that more than anything in the world, Dean was craving for his father's approval, but that the most important thing for him was his little brother, prince Sam. The one person that the crown prince loved more than any woman, any throne, or any kingdom in the world, and would do his best to prevent any harm from coming to him.

Now that Castiel was prepared (as much as he could be), it was time to meet Dean the crown prince.

Gabriel instructed him where he should go, and accompanied him as far as he could, while the entire time he continued to instruct him what he should do and say.

Gabriel did not want to scare him, but the initial meeting with the Prince was very important for his continued existence. If the prince would not be satisfied for any reason, it could be very dangerous for Castiel. Dean was very easily influenced by initial impressions. If he was not satisfied right away it would be very hard to change his mind later and if he didn't like Castiel he could get other personal slave and Castiel would become a regular slave. But if he did like him, then Castiel would officially become his personal slave.

In that case Castiel would have a better life than the rest of the slaves in the palace, no matter whether man or angel. He would have his own heated room rather than having to sleep in the cold slave compounds. Also he wouldn't have to wear the dirty tunics most slaves wore but he'd have better and most importantly clean clothes. The food would be better too. Not the just water and bread, which sometimes was even rotten by the time the slaves got it. But the biggest advantage of being a personal slave was that he would belong to the prince, which meant that no one else would be allowed to touch him. Especially not the slave pens headmaster, who was known to be a very cruel and creative man when it came to satisfying his sadistic desires and needs with one of the slaves

When Castiel entered the left wing of the palace, Gabriel could not follow. That was the area that belonged to the crown prince and he was forbidden to enter. Only the slaves and servants of the prince were allowed inside (except of course for invited guests and friends).

Gabriel separated from Castiel with a small touch on the shoulder (he did not want to disclose their relationship and that there was a relationship between them). And Castiel went on to finally meet the prince.

A/N: Hi everyone I know it's not much, my stupid work took all the spare time I had lately, so not much room for creativeness, I promise the next chapter will be more…well just more.


	3. Chapter 3

An Update!

Once again many many thanks to my wonderful and amazing beta '**RubinAmigo**', Love you!

(Who worked relentlessly to fix the never-ending amount of mistakes I made)

Enjoy

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><p>Castiel entered Dean's private bedroom. There were two human slaves there, a blond female and black haired male. They tended to the prince's bed, which because of the exceptionally cold weather lately, needed to be heated. They set a tray of fruit and alcohol near the prince's bed and prepared his night clothing.<p>

Castiel slightly nodded his head to them in respect, and they did the same.

'Be careful of all the prince's slaves,' he remembered Gabriel's warning. 'Right now they are even more dangerous to you then the prince himself. They are fighting for their lives, and therefore they will not hesitate to take advantage of every mistake you make to take over your place. Look submissive, lower their guards, make them think that you will not last long. You can't have them interfering with the prince's opinion until he officially approves of you being his personal slave.'

The two slaves looked at him with suspicious stares and pissed off looks. Castiel lowered his gaze to the floor. 'You are at a higher level than they are, human or angels,' Gabriel's words came flashing in his mind again. 'If they don't lower their gaze at you at first sight, they oppose you. Don't challenge them. Avoid eye contact, look as small as you possibly can, as if you would give everything to not be there. Make them think you are not a threat to them and remember prince Dean chose not to have a slave up until now. This is a rare opportunity for them to improve their lives.'

The two slaves didn't say anything. They kept staring at Castiel with death stares; they didn't like him, that was clear. Castiel didn't move or say anything. He played with his fingers and tried to look as uncomfortable and stupid as he possibly could. Eventually the slaves apparently decided Castiel really was what he pretended to be and left the room without saying anything.

Castiel was finally left alone. He had only a few minutes before the prince would arrive. He used them to calm his spirit. 'Deep breaths, calm down,' he ordered himself. He couldn't allow himself to look weak or insecure around the prince. Gabriel was always the one that could calm him down, not even his mother could do that, so he decided to go over what Gabriel had told him again.

'Remember Castiel, the prince is fair and inconsiderately honest, but he is very suspicious of people and doesn't trust them very easily. He will not tolerate any disobedience or rebellion against him. Even the smallest hint of that and he will have you thrown to the dogs. So he needs to see you as trustworthy. Find a way to proof your loyalty to him. Do not show him his bad sides and his mistakes, he tends to take his actions and their outcomes very seriously.

I am not telling you to always present him as the right one. He knows when he is wrong. Lying to him will only cause him to distrust you and remove you from his side. This is a very important point Castiel. The prince will most likely test you at several different levels and I can assure you that this will definitely happen tonight, so don't let your guard down at any point, understand! Even more importantly, you have to be interesting enough to keep around. You can be as trustworthy as his brother, but if you are dull he will not keep you around for long, that is just part of his character.

Don't be too bold and don't act against your character, it will just came back to haunt us later. I don't know how, considering your quiet character, but make him like you. If you succeed tonight you will become his shadow and hopefully his unofficial right hand. So you need to look strong but still submissive and don't be too predictable (for a slave that is). If you will be able to gain his trust he will protect you against any one.'

A loud knock on the door signaled the arrival of the prince. Castiel quickly kneeled down on the floor, when the prince entered and lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden from sight.

The prince didn't say a word, he just approached the bowing slave on the floor. "Raise your head," he told him in a soft but still commanding voice.

Castiel did as he was told, he also raised his gaze to look at the prince, which was considered to be rude. An unreadable expression momentarily appeared on the prince's face but he didn't say anything else and completely ignored the rudeness of the slave. He went and sat on the nearby couch, with one leg crossed over the other.

"You can rise now," he told Castiel, who again did as he was told but this time didn't let his gaze roam. The prince held his hand out in the air as if he was holding an invisible cup and Castiel nodded once imperceptibly, approached the tray of fruit that had been left near the prince's bed earlier by the human slaves, poured a bit of wine into a cup and handed it to the prince with a small bow.

The prince took the cup and drank only one sip from it and handed it back to Castiel without looking at him. He had passed the first test.

The prince raised his head and asked, "What is your name?"

Castiel made another small bow with his head. "Castiel, my lord," he answered. Though he considered it, it was pointless lying to the prince. He already knew his name.

The name of an angel wasn't just a way to address one, it wasn't given at birth according to the choice of one's parents. No, it was read, by the high priest, from the angel's grace, deep in the angel's soul and was a way to one's heart. In the ears of other angels, when an angel's name was called, all the essence of that angel was heard and felt as well. Because of that all angels, related or not, addressed one another with 'brother' or 'sister'. Only mates and very close relatives (like Gabriel was to him) were allowed to call the angel by his name. The closer the two angels were, the less affect the name had on the surrounding, not closely related, angels. It was not completely clear why though.

"Castiel, huh, I like the sound of it," the prince responded.

"Thank you my lord," Castiel answered.

"Well Castiel, tell me, what can you do?" asked the prince.

'Another test,' Castiel thought. 'I must not look too good at what I do, at least not now. It's too soon and dangerous.'

"I can read and write, I can do simple math and-" but the prince stopped him.

"The basic then?" he asked, a bit disappointed.

"I am only a simple slave, my lord," answered Castiel, with a small bow.

"A diplomatic answer, good and balanced posture, right tone of speech, knows the right way to address and to serve and yet according to what I know of you, you weren't a slave before," the prince smirked. "You are far from being a simple slave."

'Crap,' Castiel thought. 'I underestimated him. I can never let that happened again,' he decided. 'Of course if he won't cast me away that is'.

But the prince only continued to smirk at the sight of his squirming slave. "I like you more every minute," he said at last and got up from his seat.

Castiel bowed once more, a deeper bow this time.

"I am tired," announced the prince and Castiel started to prepare the bed for him.

The prince walked to the front of his bed and raised his hands to the sides, a sign to Castiel to help him undress, and he did. He slowly approached the prince and carefully invaded his personal space. When he got no resentment from the prince, he started to unbutton the prince's upper shirt.

With delicate long fingers Castiel reached for the plain gold button at the top of the prince's upper shirt and unbuttoned it. He kept his gaze at his working hands and did his best to ignore the prince who was currently staring at him with a shameless smirk on his face.

The prince was scanning his new slave's face. It was long, delicate and pale, maybe too delicate and too pale.

For an alleged commoner he was way too "well preserved" as if he was not in the sun very often and hadn't done hard physical work, not even once in his life. He had perfect manners, but most of all he had nerve and confidence, not in a bad way, not at all. He didn't defy him or show any sign of disloyalty. He was not like any other slave in the palace, except maybe his brother's personal slave. But Gabriel was exceptional in every sense of the word. So maybe he was a slave before he came here, maybe he wasn't his first master.

'This is easy to test,' the prince thought to himself. 'An experienced slave should not have a problem with physical proximity and contact, unlike a new slave, who will most likely show signs of discomfort.'

When Castiel finished the third button, the prince took a little step closer to him, reducing the distance between them to a mere few inches.

The prince was close now, too close. Castiel wasn't used to physical contact and the whole situation made him uncomfortable. It was another test of course. He didn't step back nor did he stop what he was doing but his discomfort was obvious. He just prayed that it was in his favor. He kept his eyes low, so he didn't see the prince's smirk grow slightly at his so obvious attempt to hide his discomfort. The prince had his answer.

Soon all the buttons of the prince's upper shirt were unbuttoned and Castiel held open the shirt and pushed it off the prince's shoulders. He moved back, stood behind the prince and pulled the shirt all the way down. Next came the more delicate inner shirt. It was made from a thin white fabric that was meant to protect the prince's skin from the relatively rough fabric of the upper shirt, which was supposed to be thick and dense to prevent the cold from touching him.

Because the inner shirt came in contact with the skin, it did not contain any buttons. Instead it was made as a one piece with a wide hole for the head and with short strings at the back that were used to close the hole after the shirt had been put on. Castiel, now at the prince's back, reached for the first string and pulled it undone. A small shiver went through the prince's body at that small touch but he didn't say a word or pull back, so Castiel acted as if he didn't notice it.

Soon all of the strings were undone, and Castiel came forward and once again stood in front of the prince. He wasn't too close this time. His eyes at the floor, he waited for the prince's approval.

The prince examined his reaction. 'There is no way that a new slave would know not to touch the prince's skin without approval,' he thought to himself. 'Perhaps Gabriel told him. After all that's why I sent him there in the first place… no, there is more to it, I know it.'

"You may proceed," he announced. Castiel nodded and moved closer. He grabbed the loose white shirt and lifted it over the prince's head, managing to do it without touching the prince's skin, a point in his favor. No one likes to be touched without his initiative, let alone a prince.

Castiel took a step backwards from the now half naked prince.

It was a cold night and he thought that the prince would like to be dressed in stages instead of being naked all at once and only then dressed, but then he stopped himself from making a fatal mistake. A slave never thought for himself, ever! Not unless he had his master's permit and support or he knew his master well enough to be able to predict what would please him.

But Castiel had none of those options, so he took a risk and asked, "My lord, it is cold tonight. Would you like to be dressed all at once or would you like to be dressed in parts?"

The prince's eyebrow rose in surprise. 'He thinks, that's new,' he thought. Aside from maybe Gabriel, he hadn't come into contact with a slave that not only thought for himself but also made a suggestion to none other then the crown prince on such a critical evening on his part. It was hard to predict what a certain master would make of such boldness. It was a very dangerous risk on Castiel's behalf.

'That's part of his personality,' the prince thought with a smile. 'I like it. He is an interesting slave, that one.'

"You're right, it is pretty cold. I think it would be better to dress in stages," the prince said, not lifting his eyes from the slave.

Castiel released a small breath that he did not know he had been holding and approached the bed, where the prince's clothes were lying. He grabbed the shirt with both of his hands and handed it to the prince. If the prince wished to be fully dressed by his slave, he would not move at all but if he wished to dress on his own, he would just take the shirt.

The prince didn't move.

Castiel moved closer to the prince but kept a fine distance between them, as to not push his luck too much by making the prince uncomfortable.

He grabbed the edges of the shirt and pulled it over the prince's head and made a small gap for him to insert his arms through.

The prince lifted his left arm and inserted it through the sleeve, not taking his eyes off of Castiel, not for even a second.

Touch was inevitable. When the prince lifted his arm, it brushed lightly against Castiel's fingers that held the shirt open.

The touch was minor at most, but Castiel was already on edge (well a potential death threat can do that to a person, or an angel or whatever), so all of his senses and in particularly his sense of touch, were heightened.

On an instinct Castiel's eyes jumped to the area of contact and from there to the prince's eyes.

Their eyes locked. Only now Castiel noticed that the prince's eyes had the most beautiful shade of green. Among none of his brothers and sisters did he ever see such beautiful eyes.

He was staring, a big mistake for a slave.

"You are staring," said the prince with a small smile on his face. He wasn't angry, just amused.

Castiel quickly lowered his gaze, all his confidence leaving him at once. He let go of the prince's shirt and stepped back a bit, panicking a little now.

"Please my lord, forgive me I…" he tried but he really didn't know what to say. Luckily the prince didn't let him continue.

"You are my personal slave, don't apologize for what comes with it," said the prince and turned around so his back was now turned to Castiel. "Besides," he continued, "you did nothing wrong." He turned again and this time with a smile on his face.

But Castiel didn't see it, his eyes were fixed at the floor.

The prince approached him, entering his personal space. Castiel didn't move or make a sound. The prince's hand slid under his chin and slightly lifted Castiel's face, so it was at the same level as the prince's. When Castiel showed no intention to look at the prince again, the prince softly ordered, "Look at me."

Castiel lifted his gaze and looked directly into the eyes of the Prince.

"Good," said the prince, and let go of Castiel's chin.

He still didn't step away from Castiel as he spoke. "You are my slave, that is not about to change. And even though it is widely unacceptable that a slave will look his master in the eyes, I don't see any wrong in that and so I allow you to look me in the eyes as long as no one else is in the room with us."

With that the prince moved away and spread his arms to the sides.

Castiel nodded his head once and helped the prince finish dressing for bed.

After Castiel was done with all the arrangement of the night, the prince sent him to bed, in the room nearby.

"Good night my prince," Castiel said in a somewhat casual tone.

The prince blinked once in surprise and answered, "Good night."

Castiel blew out the last candle in the room and left, with a profound bow, that he wasn't sure the prince even saw.

'What an interesting slave I have got myself here,' the prince thought to himself in the darkness of his room. 'I can't wait for what tomorrow brings.'

With that, his mind was mostly set. Only one more test left, the most crucial one but that was for the next night.

In his heart the prince genuinely hoped that Castiel would pass.

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><p>At the same time at the other side of the princes' palace…<p>

Gabriel quietly entered the rooms of Prince Sam, closing the door behind him and bowing respectfully to Prince Sam, who was currently sitting on the sofa near the fire roaring in the fireplace.

"My prince," Gabriel started, his head still low.

Prince Sam turned around to face Gabriel. "Gabriel," he paused. Gabriel's head was still low, in fact Gabriel was bowing from his waist, something he had done only once before. "What is it Gabriel? What's wrong?" He took a few steps closer to Gabriel, who still didn't make any move.

"Come on Gabriel, raise your head. You know I hate the bowing thing," he said.

Gabriel didn't raise his head immediately. "Is my lord pleased with me?" he asked with his head still low.

"Of course Gabriel, where is it coming from?" Sam said with a bit of concern in his voice.

"If so my lord," Gabriel started, only now raising his head but keeping his eyes low, "will you grant your loyal slave a simple wish?"

Sam frowned. "Gabriel, you know very well that I hate it when you address yourself as my slave when we are alone. And if you want something just ask for it and I will do my best to grant it to you."

He came closer to Gabriel and lifted his chin to make him look at him.

"Look at me," he ordered and Gabriel obeyed. "Whatever it is, ask it," he said.

Gabriel gave a small nod. "I wish to have a female partner," he said, knowing very well that the prince would never agree to it. And as he predicted, Sam's calm expression changed to an angry one. He walked away from Gabriel turning his back to him.

Sam took a breath. "No," he said in determination.

"My lord, please…" Gabriel started, but the prince cut him off.

"I said no, Gabriel," the prince said with his voice a bit raised. Gabriel kept quiet and lowered his gaze.

Sam took a deep breath and turned around. "Who is she any way?" he asked in a pissed tone.

"My lord?" asked Gabriel.

"The woman you want as your lover?" he asked, not intentionally emphasizing the last word.

"The red haired angel that came to the palace today along with the crown prince's new slave," answered Gabriel.

Sam was looking at him with suspicious eyes. He knew Gabriel, and he had been there when she had been brought in front of his father and Gabriel hadn't looked interested in her. There had been something in his eyes, but not lust. That was for sure.

Gabriel was smart, very smart, but so was Sam.

"Come on Gabriel, what is it really? I am no fool, you are not interested in her in that way," said Sam.

Gabriel stifled a weak smile under his breath. He really should have known better then to try and manipulate his prince.

"She was once dear to me, almost like a sister," Gabriel confessed. "I am concerned for her well being in the kitchens."

Sam smirk was wide but he didn't let it last long on his face. Getting another personal slave was not an easy thing to do.

"I am sorry Gabriel, I cannot have another slave at my service."

Gabriel's gaze flew right to the Prince's eyes. "Please my lord," he begged. " Do this one thing for me, and the debt you insist you owe me, will be paid off."

Prince Sam was stunned, he turned around so he didn't face Gabriel. "I'll see what I can do," he simply said and signaled to Gabriel to leave for the night.

"Thank you my prince," Gabriel answered and left the room.

The next morning a red headed angel was assigned to take care of Lady Jo, one of the closest friends of the crown prince and somewhat of a surrogate sister.

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><p>AN: Hi every one, finally a new chapter I hope you would like it.

So long since the last update… Sorry about that, I had to move out of my apartment in the dorms, find a new one, move in, get back home for the holidays, help cook and bake for an 8 people family, help my brother and sister with many problems, and find some time in the middle to breathe and hopefully sleep, so yah, to say I was stressed out was an understatement.

Anyway…

Thanks for all of the reviews! And thanks to everyone for reading!

Please review, so I know what you liked and what not.

Oh by the way I was wondering if you would like to hear more about Sam and Gabriel, or should I keep focused on only Dean and Castiel?


	4. Chapter 4

An Update!

'**RubinAmigo**'- My awesome beta, many thanks, I love you to no end!

Thank you so much for all the reviews!

(It really helps me a lot).

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><p><em>Fire! There was fire everywhere, and Castiel was standing in the middle of it. <em>

_He couldn't see anything beyond the surrounding flames. He felt__the__heat__of__the fire__burning__his__skin and__ looked everywhere in panic but no one was there._

_Noticing that his wings were free, he tried to fly, but his massive wings only made a small nod before a sharp pain knocked him to his knees. The __excruciating pain was radiating from his__ left wing. It was injured maybe even broken. He didn't know and it wasn't important at the moment. _

_"Castiel!" an unknown voice was screaming at him._

_He quickly turned around, trying his best to ignore the pain in his wing but no one was there._

_"Where are you?" he shouted back._

_"Castiel," the voice was heard again but this time it was weaker._

_Now Castiel understood why he could only hear the voice. The voice was heard only in his head and there was really no one with him._

_'Who are you?' Castiel asked. 'Where are you?'_

_The fire was growing._

_'Help!' the voice screamed in his head again. _

_The flames were too close now,__surrounding him__from all sides. They were__ so hot and burning._

_'Please help me!'_

_He couldn't see anything now and he lifted his arms to protect his face. _

_'Don't leave me here alone,' the voice begged._

_He couldn't breathe, his lungs were burning._

_'Please… not again'._

_His vision__was getting blurred._

'_Please Castiel, you promised'._

_Darkness surrounded him. _

Castiel jerked awake from the horribly vivid nightmare. He was sitting in his bed, panting heavily for air. His eyes were wide open in utmost fear and his ears were filled with the sound of his rapidly beating heart. Cold sweat covered his body, making his thin plain shirt cling to his slim body.

His still hazy mind, wasn't sending the signal: 'calm down, it was only a dream,' so he didn't hear anything through the panic that overtook him, not even the strong knock on the door.

Suddenly the door slammed open and a tall and very pissed off human slave walked in, not bothering to ask for permission to enter another's room.

"You!" he roared. "You are still in bed? Get up you lazy slave," he spat at the still shocked Castiel, who lifted his eyes, only now realizing the man was even there.

"I said, Get up!" he shouted. Then he grabbed Castiel by his arm, lifted him out of the bed and threw him face first, flat onto the floor.

A faint remainder of what he once was made Castiel's numb limbs react before his brain, sending his hands and knees forward to break his fall and prevent him from hitting the floor with his face.

For once Castiel was thankful that his wings were bound, so they didn't get hurt during his fall, unlike his arms and knees that were throbbing with a faint pain.

Castiel turned around to look at the man. He was tall, with bright blond hair and blue eyes. He was thin with broad shoulders and a slim waist. Under different circumstances he might have been considered to look gorgeous but the mean expression on his face twisted his features into something ugly.

The man took a step closer to Castiel, who was still lying on the floor but didn't show any intention of touching him again. "The prince will be waking up in an hour or so. Be prepared! I will not have you pissing him off and taking it out on me!" he said with an obvious threat in his voice.

Without another word or act he took off, slamming the door behind him.

Castiel, still in shock, just stared at the closed door for a few seconds, completely frozen. It took him a minute to remember where he was.

He was at the temporary slaves' quarters at another sector of the palace, where Gabriel had taken care of him the day before. He would move to the private residence only after the crown prince had announced him as his personal slave to the palace butler, which seemed to take longer than anticipated.

He ignored the faint pain from his bruised elbows and knees and stood up.

His temporary room was plain at best, it contained only a bed and dresser. It was enough in any case, slaves didn't have private property of any kind. In fact the only property that Castiel had was the clothes that had been given to him yesterday, when he had met the crown prince.

(Let's just say, considering the circumstances in which he crossed the border, it is not surprising there wasn't any room left to worry about property).

Gabriel warned him about the prince's possible whims, which he would have to attend to, so he hadn't known what to expect during the night and he also didn't have anything else to wear, so he had decided to just sleep in the pants and the inner shirt he had been given. The upper shirt however he folded nicely and put it on the dresser, so if needed he could grab it and go.

He walked to the dresser and was about to grab the upper shirt and put it on, when the door opened again.

'What now?' he thought angrily to himself, the shirt still in hand.

With a somewhat dramatic but still calm way, a fat woman came in, escorted by two human slaves with blank expressions, who walked a step or two behind her.

The fat woman took a few steps into the room. Upon seeing Castiel she came to a halt. Her left arm came up to her thick waist and her right arm, that was holding a fan, was raised to her face, opening the fan and covering half of her round face.

She was taller than Castiel, with brown hair that was tied formally on top of her head. She had a round, pale, and heavily made up face, with cheeks painted pink, deeply violet eyes and ruby red lips that, with the combination with her clenched mouth, made her look ridiculously flamboyant.

She was dressed in a hideous purple dress, with a cleavage that made her huge breasts look like they were going to burst out at any second, and a wide skirt that went beyond her feet and was dragging on the floor.

"My name is madam Savar," she said with a voice full of significance, while half of her face was still hidden from sight, making it harder for Castiel to try and read her.

Despite her general look, she was sending a very clear vibe. She was strict and uncompromising. She wasn't someone to mess with and Castiel wasn't one to look for trouble.

Castiel didn't know who she was or what she could possibly want from him, so he decided not to take any chances (especially after his last visitor). He therefore bowed his head in respect, with one arm pressed beside his body and the other hovering parallel to his stomach as his head came down. It was a very honorable way to bow to someone, especially someone you didn't know.

Madam Savar's left brow rose up slightly in wonder.

'The crown prince was right,' she thought to herself. 'He is interesting.'

He said nothing about her rude way of entering his room, unannounced and without permission, when his status allowed him to at least make a comment. That meant he was either not aware of what his position allowed or he chose to ignore it.

He was calm and showed her great respect, even though he didn't know who she was or what her rank and status were.

Most of the slaves she has met showed fear and intimidation at the sight of a new, presumably high ranking person, but this one didn't. His facial expressions were frozen and said nothing about his emotions, as if he didn't have any.

Usually upon seeing her way of dressing, a nobleman would at least wrinkle their nose and a slave that usually had no manners, would do much worse. But this one didn't react at all.

In other words, her little trick didn't work.

It was a small and insignificant test, she knew that, but that exactly what made it so efficient. Most people just couldn't stop themselves from physically expressing their repulse.

A personal slave must be calm and calculated at all times and never reveal what he really thought (not unless his Master demanded it anyway). His life depended on it, and even more importantly then that the life of the Master did, too.

A man or women who could be fooled by something so small and lowered their guards so easily was not someone who was fit to be so close to the royal family. A personal slave is often the target of others who want to get close to the prince or find out information about him or the state in an indirect way. A slave who can be read and influenced easily could unknowingly reveal his master to a person with harmful intentions.

That goes for all slaves but especially for the crown prince's personal slave, who is the prince's shadow and is in close proximity to the most sensitive matters of the state.

Castiel raised his head, but kept his eyes low.

"Madam," he said. "It is an honor to meet you, what may I do for you?"

She slowly and dramatically walked towards Castiel, making sure every one of her steps was noticeable.

"Among other things, I am responsible for the personal slaves' clothing," she said, while still walking, with her eyes completely fixed on Castiel.

'She is not a slave, not by a long shot, ' Castiel thought. 'Still, her apparently low rank doesn't match her attitude. The way she talks, walks and stares at me is… it's suspicious, but Gabriel told me nothing about her. I should be careful.'

A small smile formed itself on her half covered face, at the anticipation of a well familiar response, one she had seen hundreds of times before. The sheer wonder and lack of respect of a slave that understood that she came to tend to him and not the other way around.

That was the moment the slave would completely lower their guards and be exposed.

But to her great wonder, once again Castiel's face remained blank, and didn't reflect his thoughts.

His lack of *cooperation* frustrated her.

She was one step away from him now.

With a swift move she closed the fan and pointed it at Castiel.

"Slim body" she pointed out with a gesture of her fan, examining Castiel from head to toe.

Castiel didn't move away or said anything about her rude way of addressing him, making her even more frustrated.

She took the last step, invading his personal space and placed the closed fan under his chin, slightly lifting it, making him look directly at her.

"Nice face," she remarked as her eyes slowly and shamelessly traveled all over his face, as if marking it. Deliberately entering his personal space and making him feel uncomfortable made it difficult to maintain a cool facade in that situation.

But still, Castiel didn't lose his calm and kept an emotionless but still respectful expression on his face.

She removed the fan from under his chin, letting him lower his gaze to the floor, but didn't move out of his personal space.

She narrowed her eyes at him in determination; after all she had a job to do! She was supposed to find flaws in him, so she could eliminate him as fit to be a personal slave, but this one just didn't have any'?

Aside from taking care of the slaves' clothes, which was her main role and passion, she was also assigned to keep a close eye on the palace activity, a higher role, assigned to her by the late queen herself, and later prince Dean, which mainly meant to take care of the princes and their affairs and at this moment to examine and test this new slave.

She liked him. He was beautiful, calm and very smart. He had manners and respect, but most importantly he was on to her the minute she came in.

He played smart and went along with her act, trying to understand who she really was and what her real motives were, instead of just calling her bluff.

The only one that managed to dodge her attempts like that was Gabriel but he was one of a kind and he remained her favorite ever since. Of course she knew that Gabriel had visited Castiel yesterday but it wasn't possible for him to teach him those kinds of things in such a short time. It was either part of how he was or not but even if Castiel learned that in the few hours that he was with Gabriel that only made her more impressed with him.

She slightly moved away from him, giving him back his space.

"But most noticeable, a pair of stunning blue eyes," she said with a more relaxed expression on her face, genuinely smiling at him for the first time.

He had passed her tests.

The prince would be pleased, he was hoping for that to happen.

'But it isn't over for you just yet, my dear. The crown prince still needs to make his own move,' she thought to herself a bit sadly.

Castiel noticed the small change in her behavior and eased a bit but still didn't let his guards fall at all.

"It will be a **pleasure** to dress you my dear," she said with a too sweet voice, shamelessly eyeing him from head to toe, with a small and mischievous smile on her face.

She offered him her thick hand, which Castiel took immediately.

"No my dear Madam, the pleasure will be all mine," he said in a low and suggestive voice that went along with her sexual hint and lightly kissed the back of her hand.

Madam Savar's smile seemed to do the impossible and got even wider as Castiel let go of her hand. She made a small and almost unnoticeable clap with her hands and the two human slaves that until now had been standing patiently and obediently in the doorway, watching their mistress play with her new toy, quickly put the trays with the sewing tools on the bed.

Castiel gave the different tools suspicious looks. Most of them he had never seen before and in the hands of one with a sick but creative imagination, they could easily be used as torture instruments.

Madam Savar saw the suspicious looks Castiel was giving the different tools and rolled her eyes.

"Those are just sewing tools, young angel," she said with a somewhat half mocking and half pitying expression.

Castiel only nodded. He had no real fear of being tortured but being cautious had never killed anyone.

She turned from Castiel and walked to the bed, with Castiel's eyes fixed on her back, following her every move. She reached and grabbed what Castiel, to his utmost relief, could identify as a measuring instrument.

She handed the measuring tool to one of her assistants, who took it with a small bow, while the other came and stood behind Castiel and instructed him to raise his arms, so they would be stretched and level with his shoulders.

Madam Savar joined her assistant behind Castiel and started to measure the length of his arms and shoulders, avoiding his wings at all cost.

"Considering the color of your eyes, I think we will start with dark blue," she said almost to herself, as she came to stand in front of Castiel to measure him from the front. "And black of course, always a classic."

Castiel nodded in agreement, knowing very well it was **not** a discussion.

When she started to measure his chest, her hands seemed to linger on a few seconds longer, then was strictly necessary.

She seemed to have no intention of removing her hands from him and seemed to be lost in her so obviously horrifying thoughts ('that would make Castiel's face change it's color from his pale complexion to a deep crimson shade of red).

So Castiel cleared his throat loudly, returning her attention to the task at hand.

"As I was saying," she said trying her best to focus on what her fingers were doing instead of where they were, "because you are still a candidate and not an official personal slave, there is no point in making you an entire wardrobe of clothes yet. We'll start with this one, and after you have won I will make you some more clothes."

She walked to his back again to measure the gap in the shirt that would be needed because of his wings.

"After I have won?" he asked.

"Well, of course. As one of the candidates to be the crown prince's personal slaves…" she started but Castiel stopped her.

"Please, wait a minute. One of the candidates? I thought I was the only one. Who is the other candidate?" he asked. There was a hint of concern in his voice but he still managed to keep his blank expression.

Madam Savar lifted her eyebrow. "There is one more candidate; I thought you already know him, since he just left."

For one second and one second only, Castiel's shock was apparent on his face but as soon as it appeared, it disappeared again. A million thoughts ran through his head, making it hard for him to concentrate, not to mention keep an unemotional expression.

Luckily for him he didn't have to. The crown prince demanded his immediate presence.

Castiel sighed heavily. He was late, the prince was already awake and Castiel hadn't been there to attend to him. What a great way to start his first day in the palace.

* * *

><p>Castiel was walking fast to the crown prince's rooms, well he rather raced there.<p>

'This is not good,' he thought to himself, practically shoving innocent and helpless people out of his way. 'This is really not good.'

He only stopped to catch his breath when he was a meter or two from the prince's door. Briefly he held his chest, trying his best to suppress the pain there. He could not afford to waste any more time right now.

The guard at the door gave him an evil smile. "He is already in there, you know," he said in a low voice, so no one would hear. "The prince and your rival, they have been there since the prince woke up."

"And when was that?" Castiel said with the most innocent voice he could gather. No point in looking too smart or threatening. It was clear who this guard favored and it was not Castiel.

"An hour ago," he said, with an even bigger smile on is face. "Your rival knows his duties. Unlike you, he was there when the prince woke up, like he has been for the past ten years. I bet you have already lost the competition."

Castiel's expression didn't change a bit at the new information; he just stared at the guard with wide eyes that showed his alleged distress.

The guard frowned in anger. His attempts to undermine this person bore no fruit, that slave was just too stupid to understand it on his own.

"Then again," he tried once more, "you really didn't have much of a chance in the first place. Your rival knows the prince a lot longer then you. He knows what to do and how to do it, so the prince will be pleased, so don't feel so bad about it, **little angel**," he said with emphasis on the last words.

'So that's what tipped the scales in my rival's favor,' Castiel thought. 'I will have to consult with Gabriel about that.'

Castiel's appearance didn't change at all and that irritated the guard more. His smile was gone and his anger was clearly reflected on his face.

'A small and insignificant victory,' Castiel thought triumphantly to himself, 'but a victory nonetheless and a slave can not afford to be picky.'

"You know, when you lose, you will be sent to the kitchens. Do you know what is going on in the kitchens?"

Castiel shook his head.

The guard's smile returned. "Well, there aren't any humans there, if you understand what I mean, not as slaves that is," he said smugly.

Castiel tilted his head and frowned questioningly.

The guard sighed out loud. "What are you, a log?" he asked frustrated. "Nobody sees them there, so someone in a higher position can do anything he pleases and no one will say anything about it. They become sex toys, little angel."

The genuine horrified expression on Castiel face was enough to satisfy the guard.

"Well, keep that in mind as you go in," he said with a huge smile on his face, as he opened the door to the prince's bed room.

Castiel nodded and went through the door to the corridor that led to the prince's bedroom, a small smile forming on his face.

If only the prince was so easy to handle. In five minutes that guard had given him enough information to maybe live through the meeting with the prince.

Moreover, that guard's poor attempt to shake him had been ridiculous, which only confirmed that his move had been done successfully. The guard now thought him a stupid, ignorant and harmless slave and soon his rival would think like that too (since there was no doubt the guard would inform him).

But his smile didn't last long. He made sure to get rid of it, before he went inside.

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><p>Castiel slowly opened the large wooden door and entered the prince's room.<p>

The prince was sitting on a wooden chair with a man bowing fully on the floor in front of him.

Castiel quickly fell to the floor with the most sincere gesture of submission he could express.

"I beg your forgiveness for not being here when you woke up, my lord," he said with his head to the floor.

He couldn't see the prince in the position he was in but he could hear him get up and walk past the other kneeling person and towards him.

"I don't like to wait for my own slaves. Why are you late?" the prince said, barely holding his anger in.

But before Castiel could say a word or even think, the prince barked at him, "Get up and answer me!" He bent down, grabbed Castiel by his arm and lifted him to his feet.

Castiel kept his eyes low. The prince was furious and he had to be careful not to make things even worse. "My lord I…"

Unfortunately the Prince was not known for his patience; he grabbed Castiel by his shirt and pulled him closer, forcing him to look at him directly.

"Don't play games with me, Castiel. Answer me or I'll…"

"Now, now. My prince, calm down or there will be no need for you to chose your personal slave, since one of them is going to die from a heart attack," a familiar voice stopped the prince's rage.

The prince slightly pushed Castiel away to look at the person at the door that so rudely stopped him from reprimanding his slave.

In an instant his anger was forgotten, when he realized that the person at the door was Madam Savar.

The prince face relaxed a bit.

'Something is off,' Castiel thought. 'There is no way the prince would react like that just because of a late slave. Even if he was angry his reaction was out of proportion. It was like he was looking for someone to release his anger at.' Castiel made a mental note to try and find out what was wrong later.

The prince approached Madam Savar and politely kissed the back of her hand.

A big smile appeared on her face. "I believe I am the one to blame here, my dear prince," she said and walked into the room to stand beside the still slightly frightened Castiel.

"You see, blue eyes over here was with me until now," she said and pointed her ever present fan at Castiel, who kept his eyes low the whole time.

The prince's face relaxed even more, and Castiel could have sworn that he saw relief there as well.

"If that is the case dear Madam, then I can't blame him for being late. But he still needs to learn his duties." The prince thought for a second and then continued. "Since you are responsible for his negligence, I am assigning him to your care for the next week in addition to his regular duties," he told madam Savar, before turning towards the human slave.

"As for you Balthazar, you have your duties set for today. You are excused." he said to the still kneeling man on the floor, who had been completely ignored up until now.

The slave got up and walked toward the door and past Castiel. When he went past him, Castiel could see the big smile that was spread all over his face. He was immensely enjoying this situation.

As the door closed behind Balthazar, the prince gave a small sigh and sat on his chair. To the untrained eye he looked fine but Castiel knew better. The prince looked tired, but the fatigue seemed to be more mental than physical.

"I appreciate you coming here Madam," he said after a few seconds, "and there are other things I'd like to discuss with you. Please wait for me in the next room." He stood up and directed her toward the door to the adjoining room. She didn't say anything, only nodded and exited the room.

"There are a few things I would like to set straight with my roaming slave," he said as she left and directed his gaze to the blue eyed slave.

To Castiel's horror he was alone with apparently one hell of a pissed off capricious prince.

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><p>Well? How was it? good? bad?<p>

Please review so I'll know what not to do in the next chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5

Update, update, update…

Hello everyone the five chapter is on, hope you'll like it.

**RubinAmigo** - I have ran out of words to thank you…

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><p>'This is bad, this is really <strong>really<strong> bad' Castiel thought to himself.

It was his first day, just the first day, and he had already managed to both anger the prince and make a mortal enemy.

He was standing in the middle of the prince's bedroom with his eyes, as usual, pinned to the floor. He didn't move or show any intention to; he just stood there as if he was in some sort of a trance.

The prince was sitting in his wooden chair, his arms on the armrests, his legs crossed, and his head resting on his right hand. His whole posture was saying: *I am pissed so don't mess with me!*

He was staring furiously at the frozen slave in front of him. If a look could hurt, the poor slave would have been writhing in pain.

Yet although the slave had clearly noticed that, he didn't move, or speak, and if the prince didn't know better he would have sworn the slave didn't even breathed.

"Playing dead are we?" he asked in a partly mocking and partly angry voice.

The slave lifted his head for the first time in those few minutes that felt like forever, and simply said, "I am waiting for my lord's punishment."

The prince raised his head without taking his eyes from the slave. "Do you think you deserve a punishment?" he asked with a calmer voice.

"If my lord would be pleased then…"

"**That's** **not** what I asked you," he interrupted sharply.

When the slave lowered his head at his prince's outburst, the prince stood up and closed the small gap between them in a quick step, invading the slave personal space.

'What's with those people and their tendency of get too close to me,' Castiel thought grimly.

To the prince's amusement and wonder the slave didn't move away, or fall to the floor begging for his life. He was stiff and clearly uncomfortable, but he stood up against the anger of this capricious prince without flinching, even though he knew perfectly well what potential danger he was in.

'You've got guts I'll give you that,' the prince thought to himself. 'Especially for a slave. Even my closest advisers know to stay away from me when I am angry.'

In this awkward position Castiel felt like a twig in the shadow of a mountain. He slowly tried to move away, but the prince reached out, grabbed his chin and pulled him back to his place.

"Don't move away from me without an order," he said and moved him even closer so their faces were on the same level and their noses almost touching. Castiel tried his best to look away from the prince.

"What an interesting little ant you are, you faced an angry elephant, and still stood your ground." the prince said with a small smile. All the anger that had made Castiel tremble before was gone. "I don't know if you are that brave or just stupid."

'So… it was another test!' Castiel concluded. He sighted mentally 'He is going to **kill** me with all those tests!'

"My lord is…" Castiel tried to say while gently trying to move away again or at least get a small distance between the prince and himself, but the prince held him firmly.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," he calmly interrupted Castiel's attempt.

Castiel raised his eyes to look directly at the prince. When his bright blue eyes meet with the prince's green ones the prince was mesmerized again, much like the last time in his father's court.

"My lord is thinking too highly of me," Castiel said in a low tone. "I am just a slave…"

"You are far from being **just** a slave, and we both know it." The prince's voice was even lower now, barely a whisper and his hold on the Castiel's chin loosened a bit.

Against his character Castiel didn't move away. On the contrary, he moved a bit closer. The prince was like a miniature sun that pulled him in, and Castiel seemed to go willingly.

They were so close now… Castiel could feel the prince's breath on his mouth…

"My lord I…" Castiel said in a low whisper trying his best to avoid the inevitable.

They were getting so close and the prince's eyes were almost closed, and…

A loud knock on the door made Castiel move away quickly.

Castiel lowered his head and held his hands behind his back in a very formal way.

"Come in!" he could hear the prince order

The door opened and the guard from before walked in. "Prince Sam awaits you My Lord," he said formally while gazing at Castiel. He didn't let his emotions from before show in his voice but Castiel had no doubt that this was not the last he would ever hear from that guard.

The crown prince made a small wave with his hand that signaled the guard to let him in.

Prince Sam entered the room, or rather stormed inside.

"Dean, I heard what happ…" he began but stopped when he saw that his brother wasn't alone.

Luckily for him Gabriel wasn't far behind and when he entered the room all those present conveniently chose to turn their attention to him, completely ignoring prince Sam's slip up.

Neither Castiel nor Gabriel gave any indication that they knew each other at all, aside of course from their meeting the prior day.

Gabriel bowed in respect for the crown prince but didn't say anything.

The crown prince cleared his throat. "Brother," he addressed Prince Sam. "Did you want something?"

"Yes," Prince Sam managed to pull himself together. "May I have a few minutes of your time? There is an urgent matter I would like to discuss with you," he said in a more formal tone.

"Of course," the crown prince said with a nod. "Castiel you are released. I expect you to be here again before the sunset, after you have** finished** all of your duties with Madam Savar."

"Gabriel you, too. Please escort him out," Prince Sam added.

Both angels bowed in respect to the two princes and left the room.

* * *

><p>Once they were away Gabriel directed them to a nearby room and closed the door behind them.<p>

He grabbed Castiel and hugged him tightly.

"Oh you are going to be the death of me!" he burst out. "What the hall happened? I only heard from Madame Savar that **her** new favorite angel is in trouble."

"Gabriel… I'm glad you're happy about my continued existence, but I'm suffocating here!" Castiel protested.

Gabriel quickly pulled back, letting his gasping brother catch some breath.

After Castiel had recovered and Gabriel made absolutely sure that Castiel was definitely and undeniably fine, they sat down.

(Gabriel assured him that the princes' conversation was going to take a long time and they could take their time.)

"So what have you learned so far?" Gabriel asked after they had both sat down.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked innocently and slightly tilted his head.

A small smile appeared on Gabriel's face. Despite everything his little brother still made those weird but cute gestures.

"The crown prince, what have you learned about him so far?"

Castiel thought for a second and then said, "He is modest and he doesn't think highly of himself just because he is the crown prince."

"Really? What makes you think that?" Gabriel asked.

"Well… despite him being the crown prince and the next king, he dresses simple and plain. He doesn't feel the need to dress in an expensive and over the top manner just to emphasize his rank, like many other young men in the palace, who emphasize their status by the way they dress and use their extravagant appearance as a mean to enforce others to respect them."

"Although clothes certainly make a man, I wouldn't go that far Castiel."

"It's not just that. Even though he has more then one room at his disposal, as tradition dictates, he only uses one as his main bedroom. He uses just what he needs, and only because he needs to, and not for any other reason. I think that's just part of who he is.

It also means he has great respect for the traditions and he would follow them strictly, from what you've told me, out of respect for his father. But he remains true to himself as much as he can, within those limitations."

"Castiel, I don't mean to punch a hole in your balloon but you've only known the guy for a very short time. How can you be so sure?"

"The whole purpose of this conversation is that you could tell me how far off I am, right?"

"Good point. Continue."

"As I was saying, he is very much aware of what happens around him. The politics of the palace for instance; he doesn't try to fight them head on, because he knows he would lose, so he tries to keep a low profile and do what he wants in his own way despite the circumstances. The best example for that I think is the angels versus human thing that seems to be going on in here."

Gabriel nodded his head. "I meant to talk to you about that."

"All angels in the kingdom are slaves," Castiel continued completely ignoring his brother. "And it appears that some of the people in the palace are determined to make sure that it will always remain that way."

Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"Even thought the current king supports the concept, he will not live forever so the people in the palace try their best to surround the crown prince with humans at all times, in the hope to influence him enough so that he can be manipulated in the future. If I think about it, aside from you Gabriel, I haven't even seen any other angel since I got here, not to mention talked to one."

Castiel paused for a few seconds; he averted his eyes from his older brother and focused his attention on the lines on the carpet at his feet.

He was deep in his thoughts and Gabriel waited patiently for his brother to get to that important conclusion.

"Now that I think about it, why would those unknown people go to such lengths, unless…"

In the moment of realization Castiel's attention snapped away from the carpet to look at his brother in utmost wonder.

"Gabriel, the crown prince does not share his father's ideas about the angels, and he must not be the only one. That's why the others are so afraid."

He went silent again as he thought about the events of the past day.

"Also he didn't lash out at me when I was late and he didn't used me as a *punching bag* to physically release his anger, even though nothing stopped him from doing so and from what I understand, it is a very common custom. He didn't liked it when I looked away or bowed down for that matter, so I think he doesn't like the practice of slavery, am I right?"

Gabriel nodded. "Well done, you are absolutely right Castiel," Gabriel smiled widely. "I'm proud of you. You've managed to learn all that in a very short time. The crown prince hates the practice of slavery and his ideas about angels are different from most of the people here. The fact that he chose you as his personal slave should tell you that."

"He chose me as a candidate," Castiel corrected him.

"No, he chose you as his personal slave but he was forced to accept another candidate and there is a difference between those two things."

"I'm not sure there is, brother. Whatever the circumstances are, the fact is that I'm still a candidate and a poor one at that. I've already managed to anger the prince and mess up on my first day at the job."

"Don't be so dramatic Castiel," Gabriel said in a whining tone. "Don't worry so much. The prince likes you."

Castiel looked at him with a puzzled expression and Gabriel rolled his eyes. His brother could be so sharp in some things but so dense in others.

"He *punished* you and sent you to work with Madam Savar," he explained. "That way he managed to make sure every one in the palace knows you as a candidate, so if needed you could gather *followers*, for lack of a better word, very much like Madam Savar who completely fell for you. And he also managed to keep you out of Balthazar's way, so you would not be considered a threat and will not dealt with as one."

Castiel contemplated for a minute, letting his brother's words roll through his mind.

"Speaking of, that Balthazar looks familiar but I can't place him precisely. Do you know him Gabriel? From before?"

"Don't think too much about him Castiel. In fact, try your best to avoid him or else he will blow your chances to get close to the crown prince," Gabriel said on a one long breath.

Castiel didn't answer, he only nodded. He wasn't a fool. He knew Gabriel was deliberately avoiding the question about Balthazar, but he trusted his brother so he let it go.

"There is one more thing I want to talk to you about," Gabriel said quickly, maybe too quickly.

"Of course brother, what is it?"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, stood up and got really close to the still sitting Castiel. "Just now, when me and my prince got in," he leaned forward so his face was leveled with that of his baby brother, "what were you two doing?"

Castiel looked at him with an amused gaze, 'so the long years as a slave didn't to anything to your overprotective nature,' he thought.

"I'll make a deal with you brother," he said with a smile on his face. "If you won't ask me, I will not ask you when did Prince Sam become *your prince*."

Gabriel quickly straightened up and turned his back on him.

"I'll see you later Castiel, it's getting late. You should go," Gabriel said in an uneven voice without even looking at Castiel.

* * *

><p>Castiel lightly knocked on the pale wooden door of Madam Savar's workshop.<p>

A human slave with a pleasant face opened the door and politely showed him right into the measuring room. It was small and could passably contain 5 people at most.

Madam Savar's workshop was not so big and magnificent like many other rooms in the palace, but what it lacked in beauty it made up in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

The workshop consisted of two rooms; one smaller room with walls covered in fabric samples of every color and texture, that was meant for measurements, choosing fabric and color, matching and fitting. The other room was largely concealed and was used for the actual work of sewing and designing of the clothes.

The slave asked Castiel to wait for a few seconds and went to the other room.

After a few seconds he returned with Madam Savar and two more of her escorting slaves. She was dressed in a turquoise dress with white lace pieces that emphasized her thick curves. The delicate lace at her corset seemed to barely be able to hold her huge breasts, which only made Castiel admire her sewing abilities even more for being able to do what seemed to be the impossible.

Upon seeing him a big smile formed on Madam Savar's face, which she made sure he would see before covering her face with a fan that matched her clothes.

Castiel bowed to her in respect and she handed him her thick palm. He took it gladly and placed a small kiss on it.

"My dear Castiel, I was expecting you," she said with a sweet voice.

"Madam, it is an honor to see you again," he answered.

Near one of the walls stood a very long table with all kind of different machines that were used in the sewing process.

The sewing mistress grabbed the measuring tool she had used the last time and approached Castiel.

"Shall we continue where we stopped yesterday my dear?" she said in a low voice that made all those present in the room feel completely uncomfortable.

As usual Castiel didn't give any indication that Madam Savar's words ever affected him and forcefully formed a small smile on his face.

He didn't answer her, he only nodded. Anything more than that would probably cause him to lose his calm and go screaming and weeping to Gabriel like a little girl, and that might not leave the right impression.

She took a few steps towards Castiel and made a small gesture with her fan pointing at his clothes.

"Come on sweetie, take them off. I can't measure you with clothes on." The tone she used sent chills up Castiel spine and the look she gave him made it clear beyond all doubt that she definitely **did not** need him to take his clothes off for the measurements.

For the first time Castiel was speechless. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, and his mind that was used to deal with situations of life and death, went completely blank and left Castiel alone in the *battlefield*.

The slave that led him in saw the approaching danger and bravely stood between the sewing mistress and her frozen pray.

"Madam, if I may say," he said with the most profound bow Castiel had ever seen. "The measuring process is very long. If he stands there for so long without clothes he will surly get sick. You wouldn't want that. It would delay the work process, and you hate that. Surely you remember the fiasco of last year, don't you?"

'Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm forever in your debt,' Castiel all but cried inside.

If he could, he would have probably hugged the guy, who seemed to be the only slave to be nice to him so far.

The Madam seemed to ponder this for a moment and decided that the slave was right of course. She hated it when the work flow was interrupted, and even though she would rather forget it, she definitely remember the last year's fiasco.

She nodded her head and said, "Very well, Sahar, you're right. Castiel please get rid of the upper layer of your clothing."

She wasn't going to give up completely, and Castiel was so glad that he could leave some clothes on that he obliged immediately.

Castiel was freezing. He was dressed down to a light and thin shirt and a pair of long pants that, although providing a bit of modesty, did nothing to shield him from the cold. So yes, Castiel was freezing.

Standing still for a long time was not a problem for itself. Standing still while foreign hands touched him (and in the case of the Madam, lingering more then absolutely necessary) was a whole other matter.

Castiel was standing upright on the stool with both of his arms spread out, while Madam Savar was measuring his waist and upper body. Sahar measured his legs and feet and two more slaves measured his back and arms.

To someone who was not used to being touched it was an unpleasant experience at worst, but for an angel and one who had only recently become a slave, it was like being violated.

So when the slave that measured his back touched his bound wings, Castiel flinched violently and moved as far away from the touch as possible.

It took all of his self control to just step away instead of ending the slave's life right there and then.

The human slave apologized repeatedly and bowed his head to Castiel in alleged shame, but the look he gave Castiel was one of pure evil. It was clear he knew exactly what he was doing and what reaction he would get, though the purpose of the act was unclear as for now, aside of course for hurting Castiel.

He nodded to the slave and lowered his gaze, more as a mean to control himself from lashing out at him, rather then accepting his apology, but both goals where achieved.

Castiel soon learned that nothing escapes Madam Savar's attention and the slave's poor attempt to degrade Castiel, was no exception.

She wrinkled her nose at the sight, she hated the politics of the palace; who cared if someone was an angel or a human, she liked Castiel as a person and that was it!

She had thought that her workshop was a safe haven from acts such as this but obviously she had been wrong.

She decided to prevent it as much as she could, so she assigned the two slaves some unnecessary job for her as an excuse to make them leave, so she and Sahar could finish the measuring alone, to Castiel's satisfaction.

Sahar was gentle in his touch and made absolutely sure not to touch Castiel wings, or even touch him more then necessary and even Madam Savar was at her best behavior.

* * *

><p>After the *incident* in Madam Savar's workshop, she made sure to keep Castiel away from her own slaves, so no more *accidents* could happened. She made him do all sorts of errands for her that he secretly doubted she actually needed. But he was kept out of the workshop and as Gabriel predicted, he was sent to almost every corner of the palace.<p>

Currently he was walking down the corridor to prince Sam's rooms to bring him fabrics to choose from for his new outfit.

His hands were full with rolls of different fabrics for the prince's new clothes. His slim arms were sending protest messages to his brain due to the weight he was carrying, but he ignored them.

The pain however was the least of his problems at that precise moment. The big pile in his arms was blocking his view, so Castiel didn't see the small bump on the carpet in his way. His right foot got tangled in the carpet, sending him and the pile of fabrics flying into the air and than landing painfully on the hard floor.

'This is definitely not one of my good days,' he thought darkly to himself. 'Yet if I think about it, this is definitely one of the better days this month. At least I wasn't exiled again.'

He was about to lift himself off the floor when he heard faint voices coming from one of the rooms that opened to the corridor. He wouldn't have given them a second thought were it not for the fact that the crown Prince's name was mentioned.

Knowing what would most likely be done to him if he was caught, he considered to just mind his own business. Sure he was extremely curious but he also wanted to live another day.

Unfortunately the universe decided then that it had other plans for him. The voices got a bit louder and Castiel recognized one of them as Prince Sam's. The other voice, which Castiel couldn't recognize, was firmly demanding something from the prince.

Well, the combination between an unknown voice, that was allegedly demanding something from Prince Sam and the mention of the crown prince just ruined all plans Castiel had for self preservation.

'Didn't curiosity end up killing someone?' he thought.

He got up from the floor, but still kept himself low on his knees. He quickly collected all the rolls of fabrics into a new pile just in case he would need to run for his life, then moved to the wall and hid behind the nearest doorframe.

Now that he was closer he could hear the voices better, it was definitely Prince Sam's voice, and it was low and apologetic.

"I told you I couldn't get it! He never leaves his room long enough for me to get it," he said.

"Oh please!" spat the unknown voice. "Am I supposed to believe that you, the only one aside from the king, that Dean trusts completely, couldn't get into his room and get a simple necklace?"

"This is not just a simple necklace and you know it," Prince Sam said firmly.

'Who is that man? Who can boss the prince around like that?' Castiel wondered.

"What about your slave? Can't he get it for you while you distract Dean?" the unknown man asked.

At the mention of Gabriel Castiel just couldn't help it. He took a small peek beyond the lintel. Prince Sam was standing with his back to Castiel so he could not see his face and across from him stood a man Castiel had only seen a few days ago when he first got here. He was the man that had sent Anna to the kitchens. 'I think Chuck was his name,' he recalled.

Sam lowered his head and said, "I don't want to include him in his."

A look of disgust appeared on Chuck's face. "You have got to be kidding me!" He was almost shouting now. He took one step backwards and turned around, deliberately avoiding looking at the Prince.

He approached a nearby table that had a tray with cups and what looked like a steaming pot of tea. He poured himself a cup of the hot liquid, took a small sip and sighed. Prince Sam didn't move and Castiel didn't breathe.

Eventually he turned around to look at Sam, the cup still in his hands.

"I don't care how you are going to get that necklace, just get it," he ordered.

Sam lowered his head again and asked, "Why do you want it so bad? It's just a necklace."

Chuck raised his free hand and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Ah…" he sighed loudly and moved the cup from one hand to the other. "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't care about the necklace. I need the necklace to be gone so I could miraculously find it and use it to get to a higher position in the palace. After all everyone knows how much Dean cherishes that necklace. If I could find it for him he would not deny me any requests I'd make." He put the cup on the table, came closer to Sam and placed one hand on his shoulder. "And I need you to get it. And it has to be you just because no one will ever suspect that it was you who did it," he finished with an evil smirk on his face.

Sam took Chuck's hand off of his shoulder and took one step backwards. "I will not help…" he started but Chuck stopped him.

"You will do exactly as I say," he roared. "Or I **will** tell your brother and your father what a monster you really are."

With that Chuck walked past Sam and across the room towards the exit where Castiel was sitting, the evil smirk still spread all over his young face.

* * *

><p>I hope you like it, please review, I live for it…<p>

As many of you have requested, I will keep the story mainly focused on Dean and Castiel, but I won't neglect Gabriel and Sam too much.

Some of you have commented that it takes too long to update, I know and I do my best to update as soon as possible, but I probably won't be able to update the chapters within less than a month, it's just a problem of "not having enough hours a day", but I assure you I will do my best to update sooner!

(In the meantime, me and a friend of mine at the biology department are working on a way to increase the number of hours a day, I will keep you posted ;) ).


	6. Chapter 6

Update… update… update…

* * *

><p>Castiel was lying on his bed at his temporary quarters with his arms folded behind his head. He was staring aimlessly at the ceiling.<p>

It had been three days since he found out about the plot to deceive the crown prince.

_"__I need the necklace to be gone so I can miraculously find it and use it to get to a higher position in the palace. After all everyone knows how much Dean cherishes that necklace. If I could find it for him he would not deny me any requests I'd make."_ Chuck's words echoed in his mind for the hundredth time this night.

No matter how many times Castiel went through it in his mind, he couldn't reach a suitable explanation for Chuck's behavior, not to mention Prince Sam's. Gabriel was very persistent as to how loyal they were to the crown prince.

'Perhaps Gabriel was wrong,' he couldn't help but think. 'Or maybe he was deceived by them too?'

A small smile came to his face at that though. He knew his big brother all too well, and that was not an option. Gabriel was a brilliant strategist, with a rare ability to recognize a person's character in a matter of minutes; it was like he could read minds. It was virtually impossible to deceive him, at least not so profoundly and with something like that. He might have been fooled by the prince since there was clearly something going on there, but Chuck was a different story.

Back at home he was known to represent justice and heroism. Like all of their brothers, he was fierce, absolute. He was one of their country's most terrifying weapons.

The memories of the past provided him with some comfort, but they also raised another memory.

_"What about your slave? Can't **he** get it for you?" _

Castiel's whole body shook in anger at that memory. The use of his brother like that made him want to slip quietly into Chuck's room and slit his throat while he slept. He knew he was skilled enough to be able to do it without any evidence, but the prince would probably make him clean it all up and he really didn't need any more work.

He sighed out loud, breaking the deafening silence that echoed in his room.

The image of the evil smirk that was spread all over Chuck's face came back to his mind, tormenting him, giving him no rest.

He turned to lie on his left side in an attempt to make the image go away, like a bad dream.

'What am I supposed to do?'

He desperately wanted to talk to his brother, to warn him about the danger he was in, but he couldn't. Of course, he tried to find Gabriel but Prince Sam was sent out on a mission and he had taken Gabriel with him.

"Ah…" he grabbed his head with both of his hands in frustration.

He hadn't slept properly ever since he got here, but in the past few days he hadn't slept at all, and it's was starting to affect him. He was anxious and restless and that was not making things any better for him.

He spent most of his time analyzing what he had heard, what it could mean, what on earth would have caused Chuck to talk to prince Sam like that and to behave the way he did. He was supposed to be one of the crown prince's best friends and allies, but he was betraying him.

The only conclusion he reached was perhaps the most obvious one; Chuck was pretending to be a friend to the crown prince and he was planning to use him to move up the ranks. He had something on prince Sam and was blackmailing him for it and Gabriel was stuck in the middle of it all.

By nature Castiel was a very straight forward man and that character came in useful many times in his life, but he soon came to decide that going to the crown prince and just telling him everything he knew, would probably bring him to his early death.

Instead he tried to make plans, to plot and to scheme but no matter what he did his beloved brother's involvement in the matter threw him off balance. He couldn't come up with a single scenario in which Gabriel was not involved. And the fact that he didn't know how much Gabriel was already involved was making things worse.

He needed another person's opinion.

He didn't have any allies in the palace not to mention friends. Gabriel was out, so that only left Anna.

'*Find Anna*-It's not much of a plan, but it's a plan nonetheless, and at this point I'll have what I can,' he eased himself. Baby steps were better than no steps at all.

Being in Madam Savar's service gave him a free pass to roam around the palace and it also gave him a good excuse to go to Lady Jo's residence and try and meet with Anna. The only problem was that the week the prince had given him to be at the Madam's disposal was about to end, so he only had two more days to try and see Anna.

It wasn't a lot of time, but it would do, it had to. Gabriel's fate depended on it.

A small headache was forming itself in his head and the pressure was taking its toll on him.

He looked out of the window. The skies were still dark but small rays of light could be seen. The dawn was breaking.

He needed to get up in an hour or two anyway, so no point in trying to sleep now. He got up to start getting ready for the day to come.

* * *

><p>Castiel entered the prince's room, quietly closing the door behind him. It was his turn to tend to the prince today. He and Balthazar were sharing the task of taking care of the prince while also having other tasks.<p>

The first rays of sunrise went through the white curtains, painting the room in a soft light.

Castiel approached the sleeping prince and called him with a low voice.

"My lord…My lord, it's time to wake up".

When no response whatsoever came from the sleeping figure, Castiel came closer. He lowered his upper body to get closer to the prince but made no physical contact with him.

He observed him closely now, without the compulsion to look away or bow his head.

By all accounts the prince was beautiful, with strong facial features and high cheekbones that radiated power and red lips and smooth skin that expressed softness and gentleness.

Castiel could easily understand why women were throwing themselves at his feet, even without knowing who he was.

"My lord wake up," he tried again.

No answer.

"My lord please wake up. It's already morning," he practically begged.

He leaned a bit forward. "My lord… It's time for your…"

But before he could say anything else the prince's strong arms rose from his sides, grabbed Castiel by his shoulders and pulled him right on to the sleeping prince's chest.

"Ah come on Lola baby…" the prince murmured in his sleep.

The surprised slave couldn't do a lot about the whole thing; he was resting on the prince's chest with the prince's strong arms still holding him in place.

Castiel didn't like physical contact too much and tried to avoid it most of the time, but with the prince it was different. Whenever the prince was too close to him he couldn't step away and now was no different.

The prince's chest was muscular and firm and it felt strong under Castiel's touch. But that wasn't what Castiel's attention was focused on. Instead it was focused on the heat that radiated from the prince. Castiel later convinced himself that it was coming from the many blankets that covered the Prince and not from the Prince himself. But at the moment thinking was not something his brain was capable of. The heat was overwhelming his senses. It enveloped him, radiating from the prince's hand that was lazily lying on his shoulders and surrounding him from all sides. It was seeping into his mind, hazing him, hypnotizing him, singing like a siren begging him to stay, to not let go. And like those sailors on the ships Castiel was in a complete sensory intoxication. He really didn't want to let go despite knowing what would happen to him if he was found like that.

It would have probably lasted forever (or until the prince would have woken up, whichever came first), if not for the nagging pain that came from his bound wings, which seemed to be dead set on trying their best to move and tremble in their bounds which proved to be a very painful thing. This brought Castiel back to reality in a snap.

He tried to free himself without disturbing the prince too much, but the prince just wouldn't move. Having no choice, Castiel lightly poked the sleeping figure in the ribs, hoping that maybe that would be enough to make him loosen his grip and move. Hell, maybe the prince was ticklish.

He was, and that was an understatement.

The moment Castiel's finger touched the prince, the prince's whole body tensed and jerked out of the bed, throwing the poor slave off of him in a tangle of blankets, causing everything surrounding the bed to fall to the ground.

"What… what happened?" the prince asked half awake and very confused.

Castiel quickly stood up and came to stand in front of the prince.

"Good morning my lord," he said casually as if nothing happened. "You had a bad dream, you jumped out of bad so quickly you practically threw half of the stuff in the room around."

"I… I did?" he asked in wonder. He looked even more confused and even a bit embarrassed. He had had a very good dream. A sexy girl had been there and they had been… the prince cleared his throat, making the memory go away, for now at least.

"I'll sort out the mess while you'll wash your face," Castiel said while offering the prince a bowl with warm water. The prince didn't say anything. He wasn't too fond of waking up, not to mention like this, but it wasn't the slave's fault he was jumpy.

Castiel started picking up the different items that had fallen to the floor. The prince didn't give him much thought, not until he touched a fine gold and silver box. In a second the prince was all over him.

"Don't you touch that!" he roared.

Castiel drew his hand back as if the box was on fire.

The prince went past him, grabbed the box and held it firmly.

"Don't **ever** touch that, you hear me!" he ordered, not even looking at Castiel.

Castiel nodded. "Yes my lord".

For a few seconds the prince only stared at the surprised slave, who seemed to be lost at what exactly he did wrong. The prince sighed. His outburst had been a bit extreme. After all the slave didn't know and really had no way of knowing that what he was doing was wrong, so his anger was unjustified.

"It contains my most precious possession. **No one** is allowed to touch it," he explained with the calmest tone he could gather.

Castiel bowed his head. "As you order my lord".

The prince put the box on a shelf above his headboard and ordered Castiel to go on with the morning routines, completely ending the whole thing.

Castiel mind was racing. '*Most precious possession* means only one thing. At least now I knew where the necklace is.'

The prince's reaction to Castiel touching the box only made it clear how screwed up Gabriel was and why Chuck considered it's staged loss and subsequent retrieval as the right way of action. The crown prince clearly had a very very high sentimental attachment to it. In fact he was overprotective of it so much that he had almost killed Castiel on the spot for just touching the box. A shiver went through his body at the thought of what would happen to the one who not only touched the necklace itself but tried to steal it.

It only made it more urgent for him to find a way to save his brother. Who knew what excuse prince Sam would use to make his brother take the necklace, while knowing how much the crown prince valued it.

He had to try to talk to the prince now. It wasn't the best of times but he might lose his nerves if he delayed it any further. 'It is now or never, no point in delaying the inevitable,' he tried to convince himself.

"My lord, there is something I wanted to talk to you about, if I may of course."

The prince turned to him. "I don't have the patience for anything right now," he stated.

"Please my lord, it's very important," he tried again.

The prince looked at him with a suspicious look. "If that is the case please talk."

"A few days ago I overheard a conversation…" Very bad choice of words.

The prince interrupted him. "I don't care about the gossip of the palace, especially not this early in the morning."

"But my lord it's very important…"

"Enough!" the prince ordered. "I said no, so let it go."

Castiel lowered his gaze at the prince's anger. "Yes my lord."

And that was it. Castiel had missed the only chance he had. That made him even more desperate to see Anna.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before an opportunity presented itself to Castiel to meet Anna. The day after, Madam Savar sent him to the draper to find out why the latest delivery was delayed. Lucky for him it was near the residence of Lady Jo, where Anna was.<p>

He quickly finished his duties at the draper and went to the lady's residence.

"I am here on behalf of Madam Savar," he announced in a calm voice as he came in front of the guard to the lady's residence. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth either.

The guard didn't give him much thought. He just opened the door and let Castiel in.

The room wasn't as big and luxurious as many other rooms in the palace, but it was nice and functional, much like the crown prince's room.

'They must be very much alike in character,' he concluded.

Out of the corner of his eye a figure moved. When he turned to it, he saw Anna.

He approached her slowly and bowed in respect, careful not to reveal their closeness to preying and potentially unfriendly eyes that may be in the other rooms. "I came on behalf of Madam Savar," he said formally. "Is the Lady here?"

"No, brother," she answered with a smile. "We are alone."

Before she was able to realize it, he was already hugging her firmly.

She let him hold her for a few more seconds even if the codes of their country forbid it. Then again their old life was gone and buried and she owed him that much at least.

"Are you all right? Are you being treated well?" he said while moving slightly away from her.

"I am fine. The Lady is very kind to me, she treats me more like a friend then a slave."

At the mention of the last word Castiel averted his eyes from her in shame.

"What is it brother, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I am so sorry Anna. It was all my fault. I was stupid and arrogant. I thought I could win, but I ended up losing everything, and you had to pay the price along with me."

He turned around not able to face her.

She moved slightly closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, I hold no grudge against you. It was a risk we all took. We knew what was at stake and we decided to risk everything for our people. If it wasn't for you our country would have been long gone: fallen into an eternal darkness of hatred and hostility to our neighbors at war or subjected to a morbid madness of an unstable king." She made him turn around to face her.

He wasn't convinced but he was willing to let that go for now.

She stared right into his eyes making sure she had his full attention. "You gave us hope Castiel."

At the mention of his actual name the young angle's eyes went wide open.

She called him by his name, they were close of course, they had gone through hell together, but still…

"Sister, what are you…"

"It's okay Castiel," she stopped him. "It won't affect you."

When Castiel tilted his head and looked completely confused she explained.

"When we... *left*… our country, we were magically bound right?"

Castiel nodded with a sad expression on his face.

"The bonds confine our grace and keep it sealed and locked away. So we don't have any access to our powers. As you know the grace is what usually causes the effect of our names, so when the grace is sealed away the calling of the name looses its affect."

Castiel looked puzzled.

"It's confusing I know. It doesn't really matter. Just know that you can call me and every other angel in here by name, okay?"

"Okay," he answered not completely sure with himself.

"It's fine," she assured him. "The rest of the angels here are being called by their names," she said.

"I never noticed that," he remarked. " But then I didn't encounter any other angel here besides Gabriel and I guess I was too occupied to notice it otherwise. Speaking of whom, have you seen Gabriel?"

Anna nodded. "Yes he came to see me shortly after I was transferred here. He told me you were okay and at the service of the crown prince. He explained to me how things work around here and instructed me to what I should do to be liked by the Lady." She lowered her gaze.

Castiel frowned at that. "But, the kitchens, the things I've heard about them…"

Anna raised her hand and made him stop.

"Brother…" she turned from him in an emotion he couldn't decipher.

"Very well," he said. "I will not ask about what you don't want me to, but I will listen when you are ready."

Anna didn't move right away. When she finally did all the emotions from before were gone, buried away in the same professional efficiency that made her so good at what she was back home.

"All that aside," she changed the subject, "I have the feeling you didn't come here to bring up memories, am I right?" she asked with a forced smile.

"No," he confessed. "I came to ask for your advice."

"Oh?" she said while directing him to the reception area that was meant for the lady's guests.

The reception area was consisting mainly of single sofas in shades of black and white and several small tables decorated with fresh flowers in many colors.

The room was cozy and inviting, yet Castiel felt uncomfortable in it. No matter how beautiful a golden cage is, it's still a cage. Besides, the nice room brought back very vivid and very painful memories of their lives before all hell broke loose.

Castiel pushed those memories to a deep corner of his mind and focused his attention on Anna.

"How may I help you?" she asked after sitting down on one of the white sofas.

Castiel set on the nearest sofa to her. It wasn't meant for angels so there wasn't much room for their wings, but it was alright.

"I came across a *situation* that I am not sure what to do about."

"What kind of a situation?"

Castiel pondered for a minute. "I think the less you know the less danger you'll be in."

Anna frowned. "Castiel, don't bite off more than you can chew" she warned with a worried expression.

"It's fine. The bottom line is that I came across a plot to deceive the crown prince and I don't know what to do with that information."

"**Castiel**…" she was almost yelling. "I know that the injustice bothers you, but don't interfere with the royal family's affairs!" She paused, trying to hold herself back. "You…! You are not how you used to be!" She averted her gaze from him. "Keep a low profile and don't make foolish moves, you don't have the …"

"Don't you think I know all that?" Castiel exclaimed. "I know what I am entitled to do and what not." The whole matter was still an open wound to him. "I remember my mistakes, I know the outcomes. I am living it for crying out load. I now that there is nothing I can do to ever repay for it."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying his best to keep what was left of his sanity under control.

"Besides," he said in a calmer voice. "On this matter I don't have a choice."

Anna didn't say anything, she only looked at him.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes. "Forgive me, I was out of line."

Anna shook her head. "No Castiel, I am sorry. I am so afraid that you will be in trouble that I guess I'm patronizing you a bit. I forgot all that you've been through."

She bent forward and held his hand in her own. "Castiel, I was so worried about you after I heard the crown prince chose you as his personal slave. I thought he might know something. I thought …" The rush of emotions silenced her for a moment. "I know I was just being paranoid and that the prince doesn't really know anything, but it doesn't mean I can stop worrying about you."

"Anna, I…"he tried but she stopped him.

"After I was put under the lady's care, Gabriel informed me of your situation," she continued as if there was no interference.

She took a deep breath before she continued, squeezing his hands a bit.

"You need to understand. The situation you are in right now, it's hard on those who are powerless to do something about it. To stand aside and know that the person you care about could be in danger, while you yourself can do nothing to change that, it's… it's frustrating, it's nerve racking… and I am afraid that the situation will get worse for you and no one will be able to help you, do you understand?"

"Yes, sister I understand, and I apologize; I didn't know it was so difficult for you."

"You don't have to apologize Castiel, just be careful okay?" She released his hand and straightened in her seat.

Castiel nodded his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"You said you don't have a choice, why is that?" she changed the topic. Too many emotions were never her strong side.

Castiel sighed and raised a hand to cover his eyes in a subconscious attempt to make the whole thing go away.

"Because Gabriel is unknowingly involved in this mess and he is not here so I couldn't warn him."

Anna's eyes widened in concern. Worrying about one of the brothers was draining her energy, but two? At this rate she was going to die young. Beautiful but still young.

"But how? Gabriel …?"

"Sister…" he stopped her inquiry attempt.

"Fine, be secretive about it," she said with a smile.

She thought for a minute. She was always the one to think before acting.

"I know it's a given but why won't you try to warn the prince? It can also make him trust you. I know I would in his place."

Castiel shook his head. "No, the prince would never take my word over that of the one deceiving him. If anything it will only be my downfall, so telling him the whole story is out of the question, as is telling him half truths. I have already tried to talk to him once without getting into too many details but that didn't go too well."

Anna nodded her red head in understanding.

"I understand but I still think you should try to talk to the prince again. Maybe you caught him in a bad moment. However if you can't tell the prince, the only thing I can think of is trying to prevent the *plot* from happening."

"What do you mean?" he tilted his head again "How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know what the *plot* is , so I can't tell you exactly."

"Something is supposed to be stolen."

Anna thought for a moment. "Maybe you can tell the prince in a subtle way to move it somewhere else or if you can, move it yourself."

"I can't do that without telling the prince the whole story and to make things worse the prince keeps it in a very obvious place."

"Am… if that's so, how about you guard it yourself?"

"I can't be there every minute of every day."

"You don't need to be there all the time, just the times the prince is not there and the room is left unobserved. Times that a thief might plan to sneak into the prince's room."

Castiel's eyes widened in realization. He had spent the last few days in a mental hell and Anna had thought of a solution in a heartbeat.

"You are brilliant!" He almost jumped off his sofa.

He was about to praise her some more when a faint knock on the door drew both their attention.

"The guard is my friend. The lady is coming," Anna said at the questioning expression on Castiel's face. "You have to go now!" she stated while maneuvering him out of the room.

"Ok, ok, I'm leaving. I'm leaving," he protested lightly and left the room.

He was out in time to see the lady disappear in the corridor that led to her room.

She was a beauty by nature, with a slender body that made all the girls in the kingdom green with envy, a long and slim face that she made sure to raise up high and a piercing stare that made it clear beyond all doubt that she was much more than just a pretty face.

But her most noticeable feature was her blond hair. The golden tresses fell over her slim shoulders, adding a golden aura to her already stunning and mesmerizing appearance.

She was followed by a small group of talking people that seemed to fight for her attention.

Out of the group Castiel recognized two people. Two of them were Madam Savar's workers; Sahar, the slave that saved him from being devoured by the Madam and another man that he previously saw in the workshop. The other worker, whose name Castiel didn't know, looked like his body was about to break from the heap of fabric roles he was carrying. Castiel could relate.

'She is probably getting a new outfit,' Castiel thought.

Sahar and his companion were following the lady while asking all sorts of different questions and offering different rolls of fabric to the lady for examination. Usually the lady went to the workshop and calmly picked the fabric she wanted out of a huge collection of samples but now the fabrics were being brought to her.

'They must be in a hurry,' he concluded.

It wasn't unusual for a lady to ask for a new outfit but the urgency was a bit strange. In addition to that the rest of the group was asking all sorts of questions and making all sorts of arrangements.

It made Castiel wonder if perhaps there was a special event for which the outfit had to be done so rapidly and preparations were being made.

Out of the group that surrounded the lady a young human slave was dragging behind. He didn't try to catch the lady's attention like all the others, he was just walking a step or two behind the group. It was a bit weird but Castiel didn't give him much thought aside from maybe wondering what he could have possibly done to become a slave at such a young age. The kid was barely sixteen.

Eventually the lady and her entourage moved out of his sight and disappeared into the lady's private rooms.

* * *

><p>Castiel took Anna's advice and by the next day he had come up with a plan. Plan A: He would try to talk to the prince again only this time he would say it differently. He had spent every minute of last night trying to come up with the right way to address the prince, how he would tell him about the conspiracy without telling him that his friend and his precious brother were the ones behind it. He also ran possible scenarios in his head in which he tried to predict how the prince would react, what he would say and do, and how he, Castiel, would answer.<p>

Plan B: If plan A didn't work he would watch that box like a hawk.

Castiel assumed that Chuck and Prince Sam were smart enough to not involve anyone else in their plan. In addition to that the only workers that were allowed into the prince's wing were his own slaves and personal slaves like Gabriel and Anna. So Castiel was pretty sure that the one who would eventually steel the necklace would be Gabriel. Anyone else was just unreliable. He also concluded that they wouldn't make any move as long as there was someone else in the prince's room. With that he came up with a very detailed time frame in which the necklace could be stolen. He took into consideration every schedule of every slave or servant in the prince's wing. That way he found a window in which the prince's room was left unattended and the necklace could be stolen.

From previous experience Castiel knew that the prince wasn't a morning person. He decided to try and talk to him close to noon when they would be alone and when the prince would hopefully be in a better mood. At noon he entered the crown prince's rooms to have the *talk* but things didn't go according to his plan. For one the prince wasn't there, instead he found the kid-slave he had seen the day before among Lady Jo's entourage.

Castiel was surprised to see him, considering the fact that he wasn't supposed to be able to enter the crown prince's wing at all, not to mention the prince's private room. But all that didn't concern him right now. What did however was that the young slave was holding a plain silver necklace with a very unusual pendent in the shape of a head.

At first Castiel didn't understand the look of outmost fear the young slave was giving him but when Castiel's gaze scanned the room behind him, he saw that the gold and silver box that held the prince's precious necklace was open; Castiel's mind quickly put two and two together.

In the blink of an eye Castiel reached out and grabbed the young slave by his right wrist, holding the necklace a bit closer to his face.

The poor slave looked like he was going to have a heart attack, and Castiel's expression made it clear that his only way out of it was, if he was really going to have one.

But before Castiel could say anything two things happened simultaneously. First the door behind them opened and the crown prince came in, second the young slave came back to his senses and pushed the necklace into Castiel's hands.

The two slaves turned around to see the prince's face changing to anger as his eyes fell on the necklace in Castiel's hand and from there to open box behind them.

"He tried to steal the necklace my lord, I was trying to stop him," the young slave said before Castiel could react.

The prince's eyes widened and then narrowed on Castiel.

"I was just…" the young slave tried again, but the prince stopped him

"Enough!" he ordered.

The two slaves quickly bowed their heads but that gave them no shelter from the prince's fury.

With a wave of his hand the crown prince sent out the young slave, leaving him alone with Castiel.

* * *

><p>I'm evil I know.<p>

Hope you liked it! Next chapter should be up way faster than this one, since I am about to finish it.

**Thank you all for the reviews they keep me motivated****.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Thanks SO much to all of you who reviewed, there's nothing like getting up in the morning and seeing the mailbox ****full. ****  
><strong>

I hope you would enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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><p>"You better have one hell of a good explanation as to why you are holding my necklace," the prince spat, his eyes burning holes in Castiel's lowered face.<p>

He moved closer and snatched the necklace from Castiel's hand.

"That necklace was in the box I explicitly told you **not** to touch."

The slave remained silent, he was considering what to say and do, the problem was that the prince wasn't a patient man under normal circumstances, and now even less.

"Answer me!" he shouted and lifted Castiel face by his chin.

"My lord I didn't try to steal it…" Castiel answered in a low voice.

"I didn't say anything about stealing it," he interrupted him with a smug voice and released his chin with slightly more force than necessary. "I just asked you why you were holding it."

'Crap' Castiel could have kicked himself; he had just dug his own grave.

"My lord, I know that the word of a slave isn't worth much…"

"Don't give me that groveling crap!" the prince spat, his patience wearing thin. The slave lowered his head at his prince's anger.

"I don't think you are stupid or greedy enough to try and steal it." He moved away and circled Castiel, trapping him, making him feel vulnerable.

"And even if you are, there are many valuable objects in the palace that nobody would notice when they are gone. Instead you looked for **this** of all things." He came to stand in front of Castiel again.

The slave remained frozen.

"I don't know why I even have a conversation with you at all, you are just a slave!" His frustration was visible.

He turned from the slave and placed a hand over his eyes in an attempt to make himself calm down, before he lost control.

When he turned back his voice was lower but he was far from calm. "Look at me!" he ordered and the slave obeyed.

"I am not one to make a verdict without proof," he tried a different approach.

"You were found with the necklace in your hands, with a witness to your crime no less. There is no point in covering for the one who sent you, it's clear that it's not your doing."

He came closer to Castiel and looked right into his eyes. "Tell me the truth," he said in a soft voice, almost asking. "And I will not hold you responsible, OK?"

"I am sorry my lord, I honestly don't have a better answer for you."

The prince's eyes narrowed again.

The slave fell to the floor bowing his head in the most profound way he could. "I will never lie to you my lord," he said simply. "I didn't try to steal your most precious possession and I work for no one but you."

"You mock me!" the prince stated in renewed anger.

"NO my lord," Castiel tried but the prince, in his anger, refused to listen.

"Get out of my sight!" he shouted. "I hereby find you guilty…" The furious prince approached the bowing slave, towering over him like an active volcano.

"No… please!" Castiel tried again.

"… And I will hand you your punishment within an hour."

"Guard!" the prince yelled and a guard came in.

"Take him to his quarters," he ordered. "Make sure he will stay there, and **no one** is allowed to see him!"

The guard grabbed Castiel by his arm, lifted him from the floor and dragged him out of the room.

* * *

><p>The door to Castiel's room slammed open and Castiel was roughly thrown in. He landed on the hard floor but managed to keep himself from sustaining any real injury.<p>

"You have an hour," the guard stated. "If I were you, I would come to terms with my maker before the actual meeting." With an evil smirk filled with delight he got out and slammed the door behind him.

Castiel lifted himself to his bed and set on it with a small humph.

The events of the past hour came flashing back in his mind; he saw himself coming through the prince's door, the terrified young slave who understood he was caught, and the prince's fury.

He hadn't been prepared for what had happened, he hadn't counted on someone else being involved, quite the contrary. But he didn't regret his decision to not reveal the young slave as the criminal or more accurately sacrifice him.

Prince Sam's mysterious departure and the sending of an inexperienced slave to do a job so delicate, was a clear sign that the young slave was a scapegoat.

He had underestimated his foes, only now did he understand the full extent of the plot, but it was too late now. He could do nothing to change it.

Castiel mentally kicked himself for not seeing it earlier, it was so obvious now. If Gabriel was the one sent to get the necklace and somehow managed to get caught (unlikely as it was), that would have been like a huge *I am guilty* sign on prince Sam. But this slave belonged to Lady Jo, so even if he got caught, this would never be linked to Prince Sam or Chuck.

Furthermore the young slave's failure would only have resulted in his own immediate death. The whole thing would have been considered as an independent act of a young and stupid slave and would not be handled with the proper importance. Those behind it would be safe and the only one who suffered would be the slave.

Castiel had to admit, it was a win-win situation. Had the slave succeed in his mission; excellent. But if he failed, he would be the only one who suffered.

Of course he could have told the prince everything, but after he was caught *red-handed* his already fragile credibility was severely damaged; the crown prince would never believe him over his beloved brother. He could have blamed it on the young slave but the poor slave that probably didn't even know he had been manipulated, would just be put to death and the prince and Chuck would get away unharmed.

This way or another he wasn't going to win.

He got up and started pacing aimlessly in the room.

He knew what was to come. A slave's life wasn't worth much as it was and one's who stole from his master was worth even less. Castiel knew he was likely walking to his death, but he would go nonetheless. He would not save himself and condemn the poor slave to death for following an order he had no choice but to obey.

'There has to be another way. There has to be a way for me out of it!' he thought in frustration while his mind tried to find a solution. Much like Gabriel he'd had his fair share of coming up with ingenious ideas. He wasn't as deviously cunning as Gabriel but then again nobody was.

'It's just a necklace for crying out loud, isn't it a bit over the top?'

He sat back on the bed.

He wasn't afraid of death. In fact he had wished for it many times before.

Back home he'd had a mission to fulfill and he'd failed miserably. The guilt was more than he could bare and he just wanted it all to be over. He couldn't care less about what would happen to him, he only cared about Anna. She had suffered the most from his mistakes so he had tried to make sure she at least got across the border safely. He couldn't have foreseen the amount of soldiers that would be waiting for them on the other side. He had tried to draw their pursuers away from her so she could escape along with her personal guards, but failed and ended up being caught along with her.

A slave only existed in the present; he didn't have a past, or a future. He didn't have the next day, the next hour, not even the next minute. He only existed right there and then. So a slave couldn't have dreams and hopes and Castiel did his best to forget. Forget all that he was and all that he wished to be.

All that had changed when he was reunited with Gabriel. He finally allowed himself to hope again.

He hoped that even if he couldn't turn back time, he could at least make amends for all that had happened in his land, partially by his own fault and all of what his people had been through.

He hoped he could make a difference, that he could make all that had happened to him mean something.

Mostly he hoped that maybe from this position he could make a change.

That hope that had kept him going minute after minute, day after day, that had made him desperately cling to life, was slowly fading away.

He raised his hands and cupped his face in them. Their coldness and the darkness that they provided eased him a bit.

The image of Gabriel came up to his mind.

He let his hands fall back into his lap in frustration. All that effort he and Gabriel had put into making the prince like him and basically surviving had been washed away in a matter of hours.

And Anna who loved him like a brother, who was willing to go with him to the end of the world and almost did, and who unknowingly had predicted his fall, would be left alone.

He was letting them both down in the end.

He had failed again and he would pay for that, but at least now something good would come out of it; the young slave could be saved, he would live. The slave that would never know how close he had been to death and who it was that had really saved him and what he had sacrificed for that.

He let his eyes travel aimlessly across the room. He didn't want to think about anything any more, he just wanted to lose himself in those last moments he still had.

Eventually his gaze landed on his open hands at his knees. They were trembling a bit so he clasped them together to make them stop.

"After everything I have been through, before and after the exile, now is the first time I truly feel alone. Gabriel and Anna can't do anything to help me," he said in a low voice.

"I'll have to face the prince alone and hope he will be merciful."

A loud knock on the door told him it was time.

He got up. He wasn't so keen to leave but there was no point in delaying the inevitable and making the prince angrier by letting him wait too long was not going to give him anything.

He reached out and grabbed the door handle, but he couldn't bring himself to open the door.

He turned around and looked at the room one more time. Those temporary quarters had been his home and refuge for the past few weeks and he really hadn't thought he would depart from them under these circumstances.

Another minute passed and he still couldn't move away. He scanned the room one more time, saying goodbye, not just to the room but to his last hope of redemption.

He turned the door handle and got out.

The guard was waiting for him. "It's about time," he said with an annoyed tone. Castiel didn't bother to answer.

The guard led Castiel out of the slave's residential section and into the main hall that diverged into the different wings of the palace.

The recent events were a big secret, so naturally, as someone old and wise once said, the whole palace knew about it and consequently the whole palace also came to see Castiel's death march.

Strange voices expressed their owners opinion about him, while others made very complex calculations and predictions about his survival chances, taking into account his physical appearance, beauty and character, as well as the way the prince had allegedly woken up this morning, his usual hot temper, his impatience and his affection or aversion to angels in general and to this one in particular.

Castiel ignored them firmly; he couldn't care less about them right now.

For the first time ever since he'd gotten here, Castiel raised his head high in pride and walked through the crowd. If he was going to his death then he would go with his head up high, like how he really was and not like the slave he had become.

The guard led him through the many corridors of the palace that led to the prince's room. The way to the prince's room was longer then he remembered and he really wasn't focusing on the road so he was grateful to be led by someone. Eventually he was there and he wasn't alone.

Balthazar was also there waiting to be allowed in.

Castiel made his best effort to not make any eye contact with Balthazar. He couldn't give him the pleasure of seeing him at his downfall.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Balthazar's smug grin spread all over his nice face. He reminded him of a rose, so beautiful from afar and yet so dangerous at close hand. One wrong move and blood could be shed.

"I heard about your little adventure, my friend," he whispered to Castiel.

"Well, rumors do tend to move fast here," Castiel remarked as if nothing of it concerned him.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear. I didn't hear some rumor. The story was reported to me."

Castiel tilted his head and Balthazar moved a bit closer to the angel and said, "I know everything! The plot, the conspiracy, the framing, I know all of it."

Castiel's head turned to him. "How…" he said before he could stop himself.

Balthazar grin changed to a huge and evil smirk. "I will tell you because you are a dead man already; all of it is **my** doing."

Castiel moved away as far as he possibly could. Balthazar's closeness made him feel sick. If he was lucky he might be able to get Balthazar to incriminate himself, he only hoped that the prince was listening.

"Don't flatter yourself too much Balthazar," he stated pretending not to care.

A light shiver went through Balthazar's body and if Castiel hadn't been so distracted he would have probably noticed it.

"How else would I have known that you are being accused of stealing the crown prince's necklace and in fact been framed by one of Lady Jo's slaves?" he asked.

Castiel's eyebrow only rose in a nonchalant way. "You could have heard about it from the guard at the door. We both know how close you two are, don't give yourself credit you don't deserve Balthazar."

Again the shiver appeared.

"I am responsible for your death!" Balthazar stated firmly. "A week ago I heard about Prince Sam's dilemma. I went to him and offered him my service at getting the necklace in exchange for his help with the whole personal slave thing. He told me he didn't want his personal slave involved so I offered to send someone else. Guess who."

Castiel's face stiffened. "**You** sent that young slave to steal the necklace? **Y****ou** set him up?"

Balthazar nodded with clear satisfaction. "Yes, he is young and stupid. It wasn't too hard to trick him. All I had to do was promise him he would be freed and sent back to his family if he did this tiny job for me." Balthazar burst out with laughter. "That idiot actually believed me."

Castiel suppressed the urge to kill him right there and then. "So I guess the framing thing was also your doing?" he barely managed to say.

"Oh no…" Balthazar confessed while getting himself calm again. "That was all his idea. Quite surprising, honestly. What do you know? That boy might have a huge potential. I might take him under my care and teach him a thing or two."

For once Castiel completely agreed with Balthazar. Keeping the young slave nearby and training him to be deadly and devious was a sure way to guarantee that Balthazar wouldn't live to see his next decade.

"But do you know what else he is?" Balthazar asked.

"What?" Castiel said, not really asking.

Balthazar came closer to Castiel again and whispered in his ear. "Expendable."

Castiel drew back from him as if he had been set on fire. "You are a despicable man, you know that?" His breath sped up with anger.

"Maybe, but I am a despicable **l****iving** man. You on the contrary are not."

"Isn't it a bit dangerous for you?" Castiel changed the subject.

"I have been a loyal servant to this house for a very long time so I have the prince's trust," he proudly declared. "Besides who would believe **you**?"

"I meant trying to steal the necklace."

Balthazar rolled his eyes at Castiel and feigned stupidity.

"Huh… you worry about me… I'm touched, but really, who would link it to me?"

With that Castiel really couldn't argue. "Why are you here, anyway? It's not like you are involved."

"I don't know," he admitted. "I was summoned."

Whatever Castiel had wanted to answer was lost when the door in front of them opened.

* * *

><p>Castiel and Balthazar were led in front of the crown prince, who was seated in a comfortable sofa, calmly staring at the two slaves in front of him. They bowed in respect and waited for the prince to speak.<p>

At first the prince didn't say anything; he just looked back and forth between the two slaves.

The tension was unbearable and the continued silence was only making things worse.

Eventually the crown prince spoke.

"I am sure you both know what happened here an hour ago." It was a statement, not a question.

"The reason I've asked both of you to come here is because it directly affects who will be my personal slave."

And Castiel thought the situation couldn't get any worse. Not only was he going to depart from this world, the last thing he was going to see was Balthazar's victory.

"But before I declare the one who will be my personal slave, I will give you another chance to redeem yourself. Admit your crime and I will not punish you severely."

The prince didn't look at or speak to Castiel directly, but Castiel had no doubt he was referring to him.

The conversation he'd had with Balthazar only strengthened his decision not to incriminate the young slave and he sure as hell wasn't going to formally take the fault for something he hadn't done, so he kept quiet.

The prince's gaze wandered to Castiel. There was something there but Castiel couldn't tell exactly what.

"Castiel, are you sure you have nothing to say?" he asked in a calm voice.

Castiel tried to calm himself as much as possible as he answered. "No my lord, I don't."

The prince's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure? You were caught red handed… This is the last chance you'll have."

Castiel nodded his head and said, "I understand that my lord, yet I didn't commit the crime I am accused of and I will not admit to a crime I didn't commit."

"Let's say I believe you, who then did try to steal my necklace? Are you going to frame the young boy?"

Out of the corner of his eye Castiel could see Balthazar shift uncomfortably. 'So he isn't as sure as he pretends to be.'

"No my lord," he answered honestly. "I don't believe the young slave is to blame, yet I can't answer your question as to who else is guilty."

The prince lowered his gaze and seemed to ponder about something. When he spoke again his gaze was directed at Balthazar.

'Something is off,' Castiel thought. 'The way the prince looked at Balthazar…'

"And you Balthazar? Do **you** have anything to confess to?"

The prince was trapping Balthazar with his gaze, who looked a bit nervous at the unexpected attention but other then that remained completely calm and collected.

"Well Balthazar? Do you have something to confess?" the prince repeated his question.

"Me my lord?..." he asked calmly with his nervousness barely noticeable in his voice. "Why would** I** have something to confess?"

"Are you sure?" the prince tried again.

"Yes, my lord," he said confidently.

"Very well," the prince said and got up.

The two slaves bowed down as the prince came close to them.

"I have made my decision."

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><p>AN:

I know I promised to update really soon but I was really sick this week, so it took me longer to update than I expected.

Please read and review... it keeps me going.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everybody!

The eighth chapter is here…

I just want to show my everlasting gratitude to my amazing beta **RubinAmigo**, I bow before your awesomeness.

Enjoy!

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><p>The silence in the prince's room was nerve-racking. The two slaves waited for the crown prince to seal the fate of the guilty one.<p>

"Before I'll make the announcement, I would like to call the one who helped me set my verdict." He opened the backdoor of his room and Prince Sam came in.

From the corner of his eye Castiel could see the smile that spread over Balthazar's face.

'For crying out loud! We all know who it is and what the punishment is, so what's with the dramatic tension? Let's just get this over with,' Castiel grumbled to himself.

Prince Sam sat down on a twin sofa on which the crown prince had sat the moment before, while his brother came closer to the two slaves.

"Balthazar," the crown prince called and directed his gaze to the one he called.

"Yes, my lord?" Balthazar took one step forward, a tiny smile on his lips.

"Leave my room; I would like to talk to Castiel alone." His eyes refocused on Castiel, completely ignoring Balthazar.

"Yes, my lord," he said. He was a bit disappointed that his victory wasn't announced immediately, but he was patient, he could wait for the prince to finish playing with his prey.

On his way out he made sure to give Castiel a look full with poisonous satisfaction. He had won and it was time for the whole palace to know.

When Balthazar opened the door two huge guards were waiting at the entrance, completely blocking it.

Balthazar moved a step closer, expecting them to clear the way, which they didn't. Instead they reached out and grabbed Balthazar firmly by his arms.

"Take him to the prison cell. I will hand him his punishment later," the crown prince ordered and the two guards nodded in understanding.

"My lord," Balthazar went completely white in an instant.

"My lord, what is the meaning of this? Why are you punishing me?" he protested while desperately trying to fend off his holders.

"Take him away now" the prince ordered in a louder tone, completely ignoring Balthazar's cries.

The two enormous guards forcefully pulled Balthazar out of the prince's room and closed the door behind them. Balthazar's cries for the prince were heard long after the door was closed behind him.

After Balthazar had *left* the crown prince sat back down on the sofa. At first he didn't say anything, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts, but eventually he spoke up.

"Do you understand my decision Castiel?"

It took Castiel a moment to snap out of his shock long enough to understand that the prince was talking to him.

Prince Sam smiled. "Calm down Castiel," he appeased the overwhelmed slave.

"Perhaps we should explain everything first," the crown prince suggested.

Castiel was honestly considering panicking right about now. He wasn't sure what was going on; was he still in danger? It made him feel like a cornered animal, much like before, only now there were two hunters instead of one.

As perceptive as ever, Prince Sam noticed the slave's distress and spoke up first. "The whole thing was a test the crown prince set up for you and Balthazar, to test your loyalty, integrity and righteousness. You won and were chosen to be the crown prince's personal slave."

"Chuck and prince Sam played the bad guys," the crown prince took over. "It was my idea if I may add, to deceive you into believing they were plotting against me," he added with a huge grin.

Castiel looked confused and still a bit overwhelmed.

"Let me start over," the crown prince tried again. "My brother and Chuck staged the little show for you and Balthazar. Not for nothing did I send you to work with Madam Savar. She made sure you would be in the right place at the right time to see the *conflict*. We gave you a few days to try and deal with the situation and observed your behavior".

Castiel nodded in understanding.

"The original plan was to test your reaction to that act alone, however Balthazar unknowingly provided us with another test."

Castiel tilted his head.

Prince Sam rolled his eyes and said, "Balthazar, like you, was a witness to the whole thing, but he took advantage of it right away. He came to me and offered me his help at getting the necklace. He was so sure of himself that he even tried to blackmail me," the prince tone rose at the last sentence, making his anger perfectly clear.

Prince Dean continued. "Somehow Balthazar found the young slave, I don't know his name, and tried to persuade him into doing his dirty work, but it turns out that the slave is not that stupid. He came to me immediately and told me everything. I admit it was a bold move. Had this been real, I would have had him thrown to the dogs for such an accusation against my brother. Unlike you, he didn't know the danger he was in," he added with a small smile. "I blame that on his youth."

"After the slave came to my brother," Prince Sam proceeded, "we came up with an additional test. I instructed the young slave to wait for you in my brother's room, to pretend to take the necklace and then blame it on you, while all that time making Balthazar believe that his plan was working."

"From then on it was up to me to observe your behavior with and without my presence," the crown prince said with a big smile on his face, all too happy that his plan had worked. "Despite the danger you knew you would be in, you tried to do the right thing and came to talk to me about it. And when that didn't work you tried to keep a close eye on my brother and his slave's return and of course Chuck. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been caught *red handed* but I assume you would have put the necklace back in its place and made sure to *educate* the young slave."

"Although it was difficult to tell, every now and then I could see a flash of worry and distraction in you, I could tell that something was on your mind. I must admit you do know how to conceal your thoughts."

The prince didn't notice it but Castiel's pale cheeks became a bit pinkish.

"Now do you understand my choice?" the crown prince asked and Castiel nodded.

"In addition to that you were even willing to take the blame for someone who is innocent; you have proven to me that you are trustworthy and righteous. Balthazar on the other hand betrayed me right away and tried to blackmail my brother to get this position."

Prince Sam nodded in agreement. "You also didn't discriminate against the young slave because he is human, like Balthazar did to angel slaves in the palace," he added.

The crown prince nodded and said, "That is very important Castiel. I would not tolerate **any** kind of discrimination, is that clear?"

Castiel bowed his head. "Yes, my lord," he answered as if it was a command.

"I have to give it to you though; you sure made it a lot easier for me when you encouraged Balthazar to confess to the whole thing, especially since my father was there to hear it. With him as a witness I have all the evidence I need to do with Balthazar as I see fit. I have to admit I didn't expect that from you, you are very interesting, Castiel," the crown prince said with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Well, now that we are done with this, may I go brother? Your games are tiring me," prince Sam said mockingly.

"Of course," the crown prince answered.

"Gabriel," prince Sam called and Gabriel came in.

For a fraction of a second Castiel could see the relief in his brother's eyes before it was gone. Gabriel bowed in respect for the crown prince and together with prince Sam, he left.

"I'm sure you have a lot of things you don't understand, is there anything you would like to ask? I promise I'll answer all of your questions. It's a onetime event so you should take advantage of it," the prince said after his brother had left.

"If I may, my lord, you said the king was there, may I ask why? I can't believe his majesty came here for the test."

"My father presence here was a coincidence; luckily the door to my bedroom wasn't completely closed so he could hear Balthazar's confession."

'Luck had nothing to do with it,' Castiel thought to himself, the coincidence was too great to be random.

"Anything else?" the prince voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yes, my lord, at my first night here, you told me that I'd be your personal slave. Was Balthazar's nomination as a candidate to be your personal slave also part of the test?"

"No, when I saw you I already had my mind mostly made up, but it was **strongly** suggested I should take a human, not an angel, as my personal slave. So I offered to make a contest, to decide who is better."

Castiel nodded. It was a smart move, he had to admit; since the crown prince couldn't formally reject whoever it was who had made that demand, he had at least given Castiel a chance.

"That also allowed me to test both of you, and learn more about you," the prince continued. "You see, I've known Balthazar for a long time and I knew he wouldn't be loyal to me. Those that oppose me tried to place him as a spy in my ranks for years. That's one of the reasons that I didn't choose a slave up until now."

"But my lord, couldn't you just choose another slave?"

"No, I couldn't openly declare why I didn't want Balthazar as my slave, because I didn't have any evidence to his lack of loyalty. I just said I didn't want any slave at all. In order to be able to choose someone else as my slave, it had to be an angel and I didn't find anyone until you came."

So the prince was voting for him then, that is a very good thing. There was only one small matter that bugged him: how much of the past few days had been planed?

"Back in your room, when I first saw the box, was that all staged?"

"No," the prince answered and lowered his head, a bit embarrassed. "That was a complete accident. I didn't originally plan on telling you about the location of the necklace personally. I had planned on making you aware of it through another slave, that's why it was placed in such an unprotected location. But somehow I ended up almost giving away the whole thing; you tried to talk to me about it, and I just couldn't let you, because it would have ruined everything."

He paused for a second. "But if at anytime you feel there is something important that I need to know, come to me about it. I promise I won't turn you down again, understand?"

Castiel nodded his head.

He'd had another agenda in asking it. He wanted to know if the prince had been awake during his *mesmerized* episode while resting on the prince's chest.

"If I may ask, why is that necklace so important to you, my lord?"

The prince averted his eyes, he really didn't want to answer that, and Castiel noticed.

"It wasn't my place to ask that my lord, I'm sorry."

"No," the prince nodded his head. "I told you to ask and I promised to answer all of your questions."

He opened his hand that still held the silver necklace and raised it close to his face, allowing Castiel to have a closer look.

"This necklace was a gift that my brother gave me. It belonged to my mother. Bobby, one of my father's advisors, found it and gave it to Sam. He said that my mother used to hold it close to her heart at all times."

"I take it, that there aren't a lot of people that have seen it, or even know about its existence?" Castiel asked, seeing how close the prince still held the necklace although there was really no reason to be so overly protective over it.

"You're right; in fact you were never supposed to see it. The young slave was just supposed to steal it and then frame you for it, but you entered the room too soon."

An uneasy feeling spread in the room and Castiel considered to finish the whole thing, but he couldn't miss such a golden opportunity.

"Aside from mental value, does it have any other properties?" he asked a bit worried. This was a very delicate matter.

"Properties?" the prince frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, my lord," Castiel backpedaled before he could reveal too much. 'So the prince doesn't know what the necklace really is'… he added it to the mental list of *Things for which he would strangle Gabriel for not telling him about*.

The prince wasn't an idiot. He could tell something wasn't right, but he decided to let it go for now.

"Before we continue I want to ask you something," the crown prince interfered. "You could have told me the truth. You could have told me that it was the young slave who was the criminal. Why didn't you?"

"I knew he was following orders. I didn't know it was Balthazar's until a moment before we came into your room, but I knew he probably didn't have a choice. I didn't want him to be punished for following an order he couldn't disobey. I hoped he could be spared."

"But why did you take the blame?"

"My lord, I told you I didn't commit any crime and I haven't. I couldn't tell you the whole truth. You would have never believed me and I wasn't going to give the slave away, so the only choice I had was to keep quiet."

"I understand that, but next time, don't take the blame for a fault that is not your own, especially because you think I won't believe you."

Castiel nodded.

There were a few silent moments before the prince spoke. "I just remembered," he announced. "I put a close watch on you and Balthazar so I could judge you better and I noticed a very interesting thing; I knew Balthazar's every move. You on the other hand, my *spies* lost every time. Care to explain that?"

Castiel's face turned white. How was he going to explain how an ordinary looking slave that had no powers, had the ability to vanish into thin air like a ninja?

"My lord," he almost choked nervously. "If you continue to give me compliments like that I'll be spoiled. I'm sure that the spies just mistook me for another angel, so they thought they lost me. I'm really not that skilled."

He couldn't really give a better answer and thankfully the prince didn't ask him to. "It's okay, I don't really need to know. Be mysterious, I like it that way."

Castiel gave him a small smile.

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><p>Afterwards the crown prince declared Castiel as his personal slave to the palace head butler, who in turn made sure to spread the news to every corner of the palace. That made his status a closed deal. Every slave and servant in the palace knew that he had to be respected for he represented the word of the crown prince.<p>

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><p>"Gabriel! I'm going to kill you!" Castiel voice echoed through his new residence. His right hand was raised up in the air in a threatening way, holding a simple white vase.<p>

"Now, now Castiel. Put that vase down before someone will get hurt," Gabriel's voice came from behind the small black sofa.

"That's the idea," Castiel hissed and raised his arm a bit higher, aiming for the right angle. "You lied to me!" he said with a raised voice. "You knew about the test and you didn't tell me anything!"

"That is not true," Gabriel stated, and straightened his body to a full standing position to support his words.

A very, very bad move. He barely managed to draw back to safety before the vase flew, in a perfect arch right above his head and smashed into the wall behind him.

"That was close, Castiel!" he protested in an amazed voice. "You could have really hurt me!"

"Again…that's the idea," Castiel said while reaching for the nearest thing that would most likely cause damage. It happened to be a book that to the great irony of it all, was about etiquette in the palace and had been a present from Gabriel.

"You sold me out!" he yelled while throwing the book right above Gabriel's head, who had peeked for a second to see what was going on.

"I didn't know, Castiel, I swear," he tried again. It was not easy to make Castiel angry, but when he got angry it was very difficult to calm him down.

A pillow flew, followed by another and then a shoe.

"A shoe? What, are you out of weapons?" Gabriel asked mockingly.

He looked behind him, at the different objects that the *Castiel- pissed-as-hell express* piled behind him making it harder and harder for him to hide behind the sofa.

He raised one of his hands above the back of the sofa.

"I surrender," he said. "I would have raised a white flag but you didn't provide me with one back here."

Nothing flew, or smashed so Gabriel concluded that Castiel's arsenal must be depleted. Very slowly he came out from behind the sofa with both hands raised above his head.

"Five minutes, give me five minutes to explain, okay?"

Castiel lowered the other shoe that matched the one he'd thrown before.

"Five minutes."

"Okay" Gabriel said and lowered his hands and sat on the sofa that a few seconds ago had been his bunker.

Castiel sat on the other sofa and waited for his ass of a brother to talk while sending death glares in his direction.

"I swear to you Castiel, I didn't know, not until me and prince Sam were out of the palace, and by then I couldn't do anything. I tried to send you a massage but it didn't work. I begged the prince to allow me to get back, but he held me captive. I was a nervous wreck the whole time we weren't here."

"The prince knew-"

"Yes, he knew, and he kept it away from me. I swear to you Castiel I would have never done something like that."

Castiel gave a small nod of agreement.

"He might know something about us by the way," Gabriel continued. "I think he suspected something when I asked him to reassign Anna, but he is sure to know something is off by now, especially after my desperate attempts to return to the palace before the decision of the Crown Prince."

Castiel was still giving him death glares, so Gabriel continued.

"When I finally came back, the damage was already done, you had been *caught* and isolated in your room. I tried to find a way into your room but it didn't work. I tried to talk to prince Sam but he wouldn't even listen. I had no way of telling you that it was a test, so I tried to turn the odds in you favor. I went to Chuck and convinced him that it would be in the crown prince's interest if the king was present in the crown prince's room during the verdict. I told him that he would see how the crown prince is skilled in the art of deception and how good his original choice was, since he, the king, preferred a human slave. I hoped that he would see you in action, or at least see Balthazar's deceiving act."

Castiel tilted his head. "So **you** are responsible for the king presence?"

"Yes, well indirectly anyway. After the king heard Balthazar's *confession*, he ordered to exile him and then publicly supported the crown prince's original choice to make you his personal slave. The king's support also hushed everyone else who had something more to say."

"But how did you make sure there would be a confession?" Castiel asked. The death glares were gone, but he still wasn't all too calm.

"Balthazar is a very smart man, but he is also very arrogant, like you have already noticed. So I went to him shortly before he was summoned and I bragged about how angels are so much better than humans, since both of the princes have angles as their personal slaves. Obviously he mocked me and said that he would be dealing with one slave at a time, that you came first and then me. He told me about his scheme and I bragged that he had planned a masterpiece yet no one would ever know about it, not even the central piece, you. From then on he was practically eager to tell you everything. All I had to do was to make sure that the king would be able to hear his confession. It was surprisingly easy. The king's presence in the prince's room, made sure everyone was on their best behavior and therefore very quiet. I took advantage of a moment when no one paid too much attention to me and made sure to open the door just a bit so you could be heard yet not too much that it was noticed." He had a huge smile on his face, not even bothering to hide his pride.

Castiel didn't say a word; he just wordlessly stared at his brother full of amazement. He was glad to know that the long years as a slave hadn't taken too much of a toll on Gabriel. In many ways he remained as he had been, deadly with an unhealthy but creative sense of revenge. Not for nothing was he called a Trickster.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Castiel snapped back to reality. "Nothing, I'm just glad you are on my side Gabriel. You did all that in an hour, I'm afraid to think about what you would have done in a day, or a week."

Gabriel's smile grew to a full size smug grin.

"So Balthazar is gone? Forever?"

"Yes, that's the whole point in being exiled."

"Isn't it a bit harsh? I don't feel sorry for him, but exile?"

"He did try to undermine the crown prince and blackmail Prince Sam. The king isn't all too forgiving when it comes to his family."

"Makes sense," Castiel said with a nod.

"I do have two questions though," he continued. "Chuck called Prince Sam a *monster*, why?"

Gabriel thought for a second. "It was directed at Balthazar, not you, but I wouldn't give it much thought if I were you." He stood up, ending the conversation.

'Right, that is exactly why I'm going to give that a lot of thought,' Castiel decided. Gabriel wouldn't deliberately withhold vital information from him, but whenever Prince Sam was involved, Gabriel was different. He would have to keep an eye on him.

"And the other question?" Gabriel changed the subject.

Castiel considered how to ask his next question "What do you know about the prince's most precious possession?"

Gabriel looked confused. "The necklace that prince Sam gave him?"

Castiel nodded.

"Not much, I have never even seen it. Why?"

"No reason," Castiel declared. "I was just curios."

Gabriel gave him an odd look but didn't say anything more on the subject.

"So we're cool now? No more throwing things at me or threatening to hurt my devilishly gorgeous body in any way?"

Castiel suppressed a little chuckle and only nodded his head.

"Good," Gabriel announced. He clapped his hands and looked around. "You do need to clean this place a bit, the prince will surely come to see if everything is fine here."

Castiel didn't move from his seat, he just gave him a half-angry look.

"I still have a few more things I can throw at you if you insist," he threatened.

"What?..." he asked innocently "Oh… well because it's **partially** my fault-" a cushion flew near his shoulder.

"Okay, okay, it's **completely** my fault! I will help clean that up… Happy?"

"Very."

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><p>The first few weeks were tiring for Castiel. He had to learn many things and re-establish his position at the palace, especially to all of those who thought they could take advantage of his alleged weak character by threatening. He was challenged a few times, he even needed stitches in one case, but all in all he knew how to set order and discipline around him, and the small provocations soon stopped.<p>

In addition to that he also had to take care of every little thing that had to do with the prince. His habits and daily routines, things he liked and disliked, his sometimes hot temper and lack of patience. His fondness of the opposite sex and drunk nights out of the palace were particularly hard on Castiel, who had to accompany the prince to everyone of those places and stay with him until he had finished his business.

"At least he lets me stay out of the room when he is in the presence of a young lady," he confessed to Gabriel after one of those nights. His head was resting on the table in complete frustration.

Gabriel nodded, trying his best not burst out laughing. Castiel was already on the edge, there was no point in pushing him over it. It would only result in Castiel not coming to talk to him ever again.

"There are worse fates than hearing the prince dancing the naughty dance. How is he by the way? Any good?"

Castiel raised his head from the table and gave his brother a bitch-face. He actually gave him a bitch-face, which no doubt he had learned from Prince Sam. The imitation was so good that Gabriel just couldn't say anything.

* * *

><p>Castiel soon found out why there had been such a commotion around Lady Jo. In fact there had been a commotion near every member of the royal family lately. The Memorial Day of the queen's death was coming up in 3 months or so and the royal family was setting out to the northernmost part of the kingdom.<p>

The royal burial site, in which all members of the royal family were buried, was located in the most northern part of the kingdom, at the foot of a mountain. Each year all the royal family set on a long journey to show respect for the dead.

Prior to the queen's death, the king was the only one who set out on this journey on the first day of the new year, but ever since the queen's unexpected death at such a young age. The king declared that the pilgrimage would be moved to a month before the queen's Memorial Day, so that they would arrive close to the actual Memorial Day. The two princes had decided to join their father on the journey, and after fights and several hunger strikes, he had agreed. That had led to the joining of the other members of the royal family like the queen's parents, lady Jo and her family. And of course Bobby, who was the princes' informal surrogate father, because theirs was too busy with the affairs of the kingdom, since the death of his wife, to pay too much attention to his boys.

Frantic preparations were made. Like strict security arrangements for the royal family and their entourage, huge amounts of food were gathered and stored, new clothes were prepared for each of the royal family, decisions about the camp setting and location were received and implemented, different flowers to put on the graves were ordered, and on and on and on.

Castiel was lucky in the sense that the crown prince wasn't a fuss-liking man (unlike Prince Sam), so his entourage included only the absolute minimum set of the most needed people, about 30 people including the guards. The prince insisted that it was more than enough and that he didn't want any more people fussing around him. When Prince Sam insisted on adding more and more people to his brother's entourage the crown prince threatened to kill people on the way if he would not be left alone.

At the end of that month everything was set. Every member of the royal family had a small group of slaves and servants to accompany them and tend for them during the one month journey to the burial ground, the week of rituals and the one month journey back home.

A list was hung out in every wing of the palace detailing who was coming and who was not.

Everyone wanted to go. It was a rare opportunity to leave the palace for about two months and see the kingdom and of course get *acquainted* with the locals, especially in the brothel.

The journey would be long and difficult this year because of cold weather out of season, but none the less the royal convoy set off exactly on schedule.

Little did they know how much their journey was about to get very dangerous.

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><p>AN:

I haven't felt well for some time, so I decided to take a short break from writing, so I deliberately chose not to end this chapter with a cliffhanger.

I hope I can go back to writing again soon, because I have many plans for this fanfic.

I admit, originally I didn't plan on making the final test a big deal. It was supposed to be something minor and I would have ended it in a sentence or two. But because of your reviews I thought of creating a big test that also helped me a lot with the rest of the story that will come next. So if you have any further ideas to continue the story, I would be love to hear them.

Anyway I hope you all liked this chapter, please read and review.


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